BOTTOM LINE
No Other Choice – We Give Up
OUR RATING
2/5
CENSOR
‘U/A’ Certified, 2 hrs 23 mins
What is the film Vivegam about?
AK aka Ajay Kumar (Ajith Kumar) is a most wanted criminal. How a most efficient member of the Counter Terrorism Squad becomes a most wanted criminal and how he manages to get himself clean of charges is what the film is all about?
How is Ajith Kumar’s performance?
Ajith has a terrific screen presence, and Vivekam is another example of a film that runs solely on that aspect. There are only poses and more poses as the movie progresses. The star lacks the agility required for the kind of agent that he is presented in the film, but the sheer aura and screen presence covers that glaring characteristic. His confidence makes anyone believe in the character and whatever he does on screen. There are of course the few mandatory serious scenes, again very repetitive if one has followed the star, but they are done neatly. Overall, the film looks huge, and there is so much happening, but all that Ajith does is only walk in the park for him.
Direction By Siruthai Siva (Sivakumar Jayakumar)?
Director Siva takes the blue print of many spy films and mashes it all together to present us Vivekam. We have seen everything that is shown in Vivekam before but in various Hollywood movies. Since we can see them all in a single film, maybe it can be classified as Hollywood level film? Ok, we stop the digression.
Coming back to Vivekam, there is nothing in the movie besides action. It doesn’t mean there is “nothing” really, but whatever is present it is so boring that one doesn’t care about them. Now that action is the only thing to talk about in the film. We have to say it is disappointing. The biggest problem is we never feel the spectacle. Every thing happens in a hurry and the cuts during fights are so frenetic that nothing registers on the whole. A sense of getting blown away by the action is missing even though there is so much happening. The fight with the Albanians, for example, should have had goosebumps but we are left with nausea, in the end. The action that follows it like the bike chase, pre-interval, and interval block, there is so much action happening, but no sensation is felt. It is absolutely flat.The climax with six pack showcase is the biggest let down in that regard as all the effort seems worthless, the way it gets shot.
The worst part of Vivekam is whatever is mentioned above is the best part. The second half doesn’t even have that action. It tries to be cerebral and smart, but everything comes across as half-baked and dumb, and illogical. Of course, logic is not to be expected but even by that standard, it is poor. There is a little excitement in the climax, but the way it is overstretched to end just like that finally doesn’t give us fulfillment. Overall, Vivekam is for the fans and fans alone for whom just watching the star on screen is enough. There is ample style and punch dialogues with a healthy dose of action. For everyone else, it is an utterly boring film.
Kajal Aggarwal and others?
Kajal is seen playing a character even though its routine. She gets few scenes to perform too. It might look different on the surface, but everything she does is what we see in any regular commercial film where it is all about the hero. Vivek Oberoi as the villain is decent. It is nowhere near the horror of his previous villain portrayal. There is no real scope to perform though as the character is as formulaic as it comes. He doesn’t get room to do anything unexpected. Sarath Saxena is wasted. Comedy by Karuna is alright. Akshara Haasan, arrives, cries and disappears.
Music and other departments?
Music by Anirudh has an international quality. They serve the purpose in the narrative but there is nothing memorable and standing out. The cinematography is superb, and the visuals are grand. Editing, especially during the fights, should have been better. Dialogues are ok.
Highlights?
Ajith’s screen presence
Action blocks
Pre-climax
Drawbacks?
Action
Predictable story
Climax
Alternative Take
Hire a better director or better action choreographer.
Did I enjoy it?
In parts.
Will you recommend it?
Only for fans.
Vivegam (Vivekam) Review by Siddartha Toleti
Final Report:
Vivekam (Vivegam) comes with grand making values and good visuals but that’s about it. Lack of freshness in script and scenes is the biggest issue of this action thriller. Watch this space for our frank review shortly.
– Anirudh’s background score highlights in very few scenes.
– Tamil actor Karunakaran’s comedy works to some extent. It’s a very done to death comedy track we have seen numerous times so far.
– Vivek Oberoi paints Ajith (AK) as a most wanted terrorist. AK has now two targets. Finding dangerous weapons and proving his innocence to the world. Sharat Saxena has very limited role in Vivekam. Vivek Oberoi plays main villain.
– Kajal has better screen time in second half. But her song in climax could have been avoided. It’s way old fashioned.
– Now the story shifts to a war between Ajith and Vivek Oberoi. Vivek tries to kill Ajith’s wife Kajal but fails. The mind games between Ajith and Vivek are not engaging at all.
– First Half Report:
The first half is filled with back to back action episodes with nonstop gun firings. Visuals are very grand but action episodes are missing the kick. Overall it’s a very average first half. Interval bang is interesting, reveals the main villain. Ajith says real action begins now. Let’s see.
– Kajal has a very limited role in the first half.
– As part of the mission AK (Ajith) is chasing hacker Natasha (Akshara Haasan), is never ending. Natasha soon turns helper for Ajith to identify the dangerous earth quake weapons. In the process, Natasha takes a bullet shot and dies.
– Ajith gets a serious mission to find dangerous weapons which could cause earth quakes. He has very little time to find them.
– Vivek Oberoi takes us to the flash back episode of Ajith and Kajal Aggarwal. Friends Vivek and Ajith work together in the same intelligence agency.
– Show started with a serious action episode. Ajith makes his entry with ‘party time’ dialogue. Excellent location and grand visuals but the way action episode shot is just ordinary.
Vivekam (Vivegam) Live Updates begin at 5 am IST
Preview: Vivekam (Vivegam in Tamil)
After Rajinikanth, there is one hero in Tamil who commands immense fan following and can work wonders at the box-office, by his sheer presence. He is Ajith Kumar whom fans address as ‘Thala’. His craze is at peaks among his fans and he is one example of what a stardom can command.
| S# | Movie | Collections (In $) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yennai Arindhaal | $515K |
| 2 | Arrambam | $377K |
| 3 | Vedalam | $288K |
| 4 | Veeram | $243K |
| 5 | Billa | $207K |
So, when an Ajith’s movie is in the offing, the hype built around it is going to make us expect huge numbers. If ‘Vivekam‘ turns out to be a hit, this would be his third successful movie by the same director with Ajith. ‘Veeram’ and ‘Vedalam’ starring Ajith and directed by Siva recorded blockbusters in Tamil.
Director Siva knows how to capture Ajith is larger than life frames and make it believable. The action mixed in right proportions with emotions was the undercurrent of the movies that connected to the audiences, instantly. Can Siva repeat the magic?
The trailer of the movie and Ajith’s bulky frame left the audiences in wonder and we are hoping to see something really amazing on the screen. The promos of ‘Vivekam‘ had made us crave for more. It’s Ajith’s mania written all over in the ambiance when his movie is about to hit the theatres.
When we look back, 2017 hasn’t been great for big movies except for ‘Baahubali 2’. Vijay’s ‘Bhairavaa’ and Suriya’s ‘Singham 3’ were disasters. Dhanush, the young superstar of Kollywood couldn’t weave magic with his ‘VIP 2’. So, it had been a dull first half for Kollywood.
Will ‘Vivekam’ (Vivegam) smash the dullness and bring some glamour to the collections’ figures? It’s the only biggest release and the big film to bank on, as of now. With ‘Kabali’ being the highest opener followed by Ajith’s Vedalam’, will ‘Vivekam’ (Vivegam) be the biggest movie post the GST?
Both the Telugu and the Tamil versions are going to have a simultaneous release like it happened for ‘Billa 2’ starring Ajith. But, the ‘Billa 2’ hype is missing for ‘Vivekam’ in Telugu. Ajith’s market in the Telugu States isn’t good. Long back, he used to have a good market in Telugu but lost it completely.
It’s the season of spy thrillers in the offing. Mahesh Babu’s ‘SPYder’ and Vikram’s ‘Dhruva Natchathiram’ also belong to the same genre. Will Ajith set the momentum right for the spy thrillers to follow suit? What wonders would Siva-Ajith’s combo offer us?
Most importantly, will Ajith be able to regain his lost throne in the Telugu States with his ‘Vivekam’ at least to some extent? Be rest assured. We’ll get the answers within a few hours. Wait for our mirchi9 team’s genuine Vivegam review. Stay tuned, don’t miss. Coming soon.
Vivegam Live updates (US Premier BO Related):
– Trade is expecting Vivegam to collect over $250K from it’s US premiere.
– Vivegam has already crossed Ajith’s previous highest grossing premiere Yennai Arindhaal ($113K).
– If we go by Vivegam latest reported figure $115,315 it has beaten Vijay’s Bairavaa’s Premiere collection of $81K. Vivegam is now 2017’s highest grossing Tamil premiere in US.
– *Latest: Vivegam collected $208,444 from Wednesday US premieres.
