Beast Movie Review
Vijay plays Veera Raghavan, a former RAW agent, who during his visit to a shopping mall is requested by the force to tackle a life-threatening situation when the entire premise is hijacked by terrorists.
In the past decade, where Tamil cinema has witnessed the arrival of many young and aspiring filmmakers, there seems to have been an issue. The moviemakers of this league proved their potential initially, but when it comes to handling stars, they face some sort of issues. Maybe, this overloaded responsibility keeps them confined to pressure, which in turn, restricts them from showcasing their complete creativity. It looks like director Nelson falls into the same category. His previous movies had garnered tremendous response for his style of presenting intense stories with an entertaining package. In fact, apart from a star attraction like Vijay, Nelson was yet another reason for raising the bars of expectations over Beast. Unfortunately, He disappoints us. It is evident in many places that the story gets directionless, and the audiences become restless.
The main plus of Beast is Vijay alone! His screen presence, especially his physique plays a vital prominence in keeping our eyes glued to the screens. To be precise, this factor eclipses the dull moments of the movie in many places as well. He is so dashing in action sequences. Even his dancing style has changed a lot from his previous works. Special courtesy to choreographer Jani master for a wonderful choreography and the fans are sure to have themselves enthralled with ‘Arabic Kuthu’ and ‘Jolly O Gymkhana’. We get to see the Pokkiri mannerisms of Vijay in a few places. From another perspective, it could be the input of director Nelson as well. Both Vijay and Pooja Hegde resemble the Sivakarthikeyan-Priyanka shades in a few places. Selvaraghavan is the show stealer when it comes to his portions. He is flawless, natural and so perfect for his characterization. Although there are many comedians from the ‘Doctor’ team, except for VTV Ganesh, there is a scarcity of humor. Except for VTV Ganesh, who keeps tickling our funny bones with his episodes, the others are merely like set properties. Tom Shine Chacko, the reputed Malayalam star has been wasted. A genius actor like him being limited to an ordinary role with no importance is disappointing. Pooja Hegde doesn’t have any importance in the movie.
Technically, the art department needs special mention for wonderful set work. The songs by Anirudh are perfect, but the same theme music, repeated over and again leaves us tired to a certain extent. The cinematography is just normal, but the opening action sequences are shot excellently.
There is nothing wrong with making a movie with a commercially successful star appear in a larger-than-life role. Beast has an outdated storyline, which would have worked if Nelson had tried expressing humor appropriately. If making a serious movie was his plan, he could have avoided the humor completely. Even if an action movie was his intention, he should have trimmed the running length, especially the action blocks, that keeps reoccurring throughout the movie.
Overall, Beast belongs to Vijay. His screen presence is a big treat for his diehard fans, but director Nelson disappoints us with his narration that completely lacks engagement in many places.
Verdict: Apart from Vijay’s magnetizing screen presence, Beast lacks the essentials to engross the audiences.
