Theri

My review: Theri

In my view Atlee's debut movie "Raja Rani" was overhyped. It didn't have anything new in it in terms of storyline but somehow managed to salvage it by his treatment. The same holds true for his latest venture "Theri", starring Vijay. If not for Vijay, this movie would have fallen flat. If "Raja Rani" was heavily inspired by various movies that dealt with love failure and marital problems, "Theri"is heavily inspired by many cop movies that have graced Tamil cinema. 

The storyline is banal, a routine revenge drama where both the protagonist and antagonist suffer collateral damages. Screenplay is tailored to the need to cater to the mass masala friendly audience. In spite of all this what makes this movie work is only one single person, Vijay. His awesome charisma, screen presence and acting masks all the inadequacies and keeps the audience going. He is terrific in whatever he does in this movie. Just the manner in which he carries himself be it as a timid father or a dynamic police officer or a charming lover/husband, Vijay is just outstanding and if the movie garners good reviews and success then it should be wholly due to him.

Since the movie is a one man show, almost rest of the acting crew just gets relegated to the background. Among them Rajendran and Nainika scores. G.V.Prakashkumar's music is good, both songs and background score. "Chella kutti" and "Jithu jilladi" are my picks. George's cienmatography is outstanding, giving the movie a very rich look.

On the whole, "Theri" is amalgamation of scenes already done by Rajnikanth, Vijaykanth, Ajithkumar, Surya, and many other actors but when Vijay does it, it is just 'theri'fic.

Bottomline:One man's "Theri"fic show

3.5/5