Leo Movie Review
Thalapathy Vijay and Lokesh Kanagaraj together deliver a fitting action film that works despite its flaws. Here goes our Leo Movie Review.
Leo Movie Review
A satisfying action film that delivers the goods in a fair amount!
Performances
Story & Narration
Technical Aspects & Music
In what is possibly the most awaited film from Tamil cinema yet, Leo arrives amidst big expectations from the fans and now, the film hits the light of the day. But has it hit the mark in terms of delivering a film that meets the hype. Well.
As much as how much has been spoken about the film’s first ten minutes, it starts delivering from there itself in terms of the experience that it brings. The film’s storyline can be kept a surprise or left out in the open – it doesn’t make a difference because Lokesh Kanagaraj gives us what we expect from him – a raw and unflinching action thriller that keeps giving over its 3 hour runtime. The first half has more than enough to do to setup the world of the characters in a terrific way, while the second half is completely about the action, tension between the men on screen and the losses they have in their journey. Lokesh has also brought in his world building surprises all along the way, and the film keeps taking them alive with great style and packaging. However, Leo suffers from a poor flashback sequence that hardly has anything going for it. The film dips down from there, because it fails to bring in any form of emotional connect to the story and the action too starts feeling empty though it is great to the eyes. The second half is decent at best, and this is far from the 100% Lokesh film which was promised.
Thalapathy Vijay delivers a rocking show in Leo, and it is his most emotionally charged and raging performance in years. The way in which his character has been sketched and the approach with which he realizes it on screen makes it one of his career best performances. There are so many scenes and action sequences where he simply lights it up.
The film goes in well from the presence of Sanjay Dutt and Arjun, who are big plus points to the storyline and the cast – making them unique choices who do their parts decently. Trisha is at her best too, and that’s a huge win for the film, which has an important female character standing tall amidst the men. The rest of the performances slide in will and make it a casting coup that deserves applause.
The film is technically super strong with Manoj Paramahamsa’s cinematography showing the way forward for action films, and Anirudh simply ruling the roost yet again in a film that demands an international score from him. Special credit to stunt masters Anbariv and the VFX artists who have ensured that Leo is no less than the best works in India, in their departments.
On the whole, Lokesh Kanagaraj opts for a simple and straightforward storyline in Leo which is of course strung out of History Of Violence, but the film is a decent ride on the whole which starts off so well but does not match the second half to the first. Leo is definitely worth a watch on the big screens, but it is an opportunity that could have been better.
