Rajinikanth in a still from 'Jailer'
Jailer review: Glimpses of vintage Rajinikanth, racy climax make it a winner
Rajinikanth looks super stylish, probably his best look ever after Petta although he plays a retired police officer
After back-to-back failures in Annatthe and Darbar, Rajinikanth has huge hopes pinned on Jailer. Interestingly, it is also a do-or-die film for director Nelson whose Beast fell flat.
Despite this, there is massive hype over the film. After all, it’s a Rajinikanth film!
Muthuvel Pandian (Rajinikanth) is an ex-cop, who served as a jailer in prison but he is family man as well. When his son (Vasanth Ravi), a cop goes missing, Muthuvel unearths the secret behind the last case investigated by his son only to know that there is an underground mafia spearheaded by (Vinayakan).
Just like Rajinikanth’s Baasha, the superstar has a ferocious flashback in Jailer, which is the major USP of the film.
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Jailer is a typical Nelson film filled with dark humour, deadpan reactions from actors, violence, bloodshed, and stylish shots.
In Beast, Nelson couldn’t make a statement, but this time, the filmmaker has earned back his form on par with his first two films — Kolamavu Kokila and Doctor. Yet, there are moments where many elements, such as humour, could’ve been better.
First things first: Rajinikanth looks super stylish, probably his best look ever after Petta. That vintage Rajini swag comes alive, particularly in action sequences.
In the last few films, action scenes in Rajinikanth’s films were not convincing but this time it is effective though parental guidance is advisable. The idea of using Mohanlal, Shiva Rajkumar and Jackie Shroff strikes well, especially in climax sequences. In fact, their special appearances help the film when it is on the verge of sinking in the second half, mostly due to needless comedy detour.
The film also has an ensemble of actors and all of them including Ramya Krishnan, Vasanth Ravi, Tamannaah (more like an extended cameo), Suniel, and the comedy battalions VTV Ganesh and Redin Kingsley have done their parts well in limited screen space.
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Special mention to Vinayakan, the deadly villain who pulled off the role with sheer perfection.
While the first half of the film is packed with comic and enjoyable moments, the second half tests our patience in many scenes before a riveting action episode, featuring three superstars, lifts the film again.
Technically, Jailer looks sleek with superb cinematography by Vijay Karthik Kannan and scintillating music by Anirudh Ravichander, who took the film to another level with the Hukum song and peppy background score.
Overall, Jailer has an highly engaging first half, a subdued second half and a racy climax.
