2.0- A story let down by visual extravaganza

2.0 is a magnum opus directed by Shanmugam Shankar featuring Rajinikanth , Akshay Kumar and Amy Jackson in the lead roles. Music is by AR Rehman and the movie is poduced by Lyca Productions

Few seconds into the movie runtime, you start hearing screams & cheers of different decibels jostling against each other kicking off the onset for the mass hysteria and a fan frenzy. This time you have a plethora of good reasons for that as you are watching — Indias biggest movie, Indias biggest 3D movie, a ‘Thalaivar ‘ movie, Thalaivar in a 3D movie and last but the least a Shankar movie. As if these reasons are not enough, you are promised of 3 Rajinikanths in the movie making the show even more scintillating.

STORY :

Having no time and making no way for unwanted tropes, the story kickstarts right from the first frame. An unidentified person strangles himself to death from a mobile tower . Later we witness a spectacle of mobiles of pedestrians from different walks of life being knee-jerkingly snatched away, making them baffled and perturbed. The heap of mobiles whirl in the air and make death bed for few perpetrators. This becomes an urgent item of discussion at the scientist symposium to discuss the steps to curb this menace. In circumstances, beyond control, Chitti enters the stage, in the hour of the need to save the city and the rest is about Chittis mission to combat the fifth force and revive human lives.

ANALYSIS :

The first time you see the floor of VFX-laden smartphones, you go in awe of the the visual only till it becomes a repetitive sequence. The story does not progress much here but introduces us the high-end VFX bird incarnation of the fifth force, that is massive and monstrous. The story advances in the second half with a back story of the bird that urges us to sympathize with the character, rather than despise it. The 3-D visuals of birds in this backdrop are satiating and become the jaw-dropping moments of the movie. The climax episode of the movie, a face-off between two giant creatures is VFX overloaded setting the stage on fire. There are a couple of pleasant surprises in the movie, one at the pre-climax and the other at the climax. There are hat-tips to Shankar’s previous movies but detaches from the lot in its way.

PERFORMANCES :

Superstar exudes charm and style even in the role of a contrivance. His repartee in the climax and preclimax makes it a fun watch and eases the nerves of viewers who were over fed with nothing but VFX visuals till then. Amy Jackson just fills in the void of a glam doll that a star movie needed. Akshay Kumar wins more points for his role as Pakshiraja & Crow-king. He looks terrifying and malevolent.

BOTTOMLINE :

With a wafer-thin storyline, 2.0 happens to be a podium for a grand extravaganza for the audience, predominantly meant for a 3D viewing. Shankar needs a hat doze off for thinking big and recreating Hollywood kind of grandeur on Indian celluloid.