Mersal (2017): Of all the terrific actors from Kollywood,I feel that Vijay is overrated.His performances are just average but he is excellent in dances.Till now I watched his best performances only in Thuppaki and Kaththi.In 2017,he already released Bairavaa,which is one of the worst movies of 2017.Now its time for Mersal which already achieved the status of highest grossing Tamil films and been in news with controversies as BJP raised objections to the scenes that referred to "GST" and "Demonetization".How is the movie? Plot: Maaran (Vijay) is a sincere doctor who does medication for free. Seeing his service, a renowned organization in Europe confers him with an award. This is also the time when a lookalike of Vetri (Vijay),who is a magician, kills one of the doctors who has come for the same award ceremony. As a result of this, Maaran gets arrested by the cops. Who is this Vetri? What does he have to do with Maaran? and what is the scam behind all these murders?. To know the answers, you need to watch the film on the big screen.

My Review: There's no escaping a feeling of deja vu when you watch an Atlee film. But that feeling has never been as strong as when one watches Mersal. The director must really have been Shankar's most diligent assistant.Ten minutes into Mersal and all you see is Shankar (and Murgadoss in parts),not just in terms of treatment, even in the tropes and plot points.

As you watch the film, it's like you're playing 'Spot the Original'. So when Maaran is taken away to jail to the sounds of a wailing crowd, you're thinking Sivaji. And when Vetri goes into flashback mode, about how a young girl dies due to the result of a corrupt system, you're thinking Anniyan. And again, when Thalapathy pulls down a water tanker to douse a major fire, you're thinking Baahubali or any Vijaykanth movie. The story is right out of Aboorva Sagotharargal. A father is brutally murdered. A son takes revenge. The other son is thought to be the killer.

In a sense, it feels like a compilation of sequences from earlier blockbusters.Even if you watch bits of it on television, you will have a hard time guessing which Vijay movie it is. All his movies look the same. But that doesn't make the film dislikable; in fact, it's quite enjoyable. For Vijay fans,Mersal is definitely a treat.Entire Paris episode looks lavishing but slow.Entry of Samantha evokes some laughter but it lasts for short time.Flashback episode is so long but it is one of the descent parts of the film with terrific performances from Vijay and Nithya Menon.

Vijay has played three roles that of a father and two sons. The movie entirely works on the charisma and performance of Vijay. He is in terrific form here. Some of the mass moments performed by Vijay would definitely make the audience whistle and clap.There are lot of political dialogues here which appeal for Vijay fans but don't they care for those who aren't his fans? Technically though, Mersal scores on most fronts. The visuals (by GK Vishnu) are terrific and AR Rahman's music chips in to make the overall 'product' worthy of a big festival release. There are several slo-mo shots which could have been edited to save half-n-hour of its 2hr50min runtime.

So,Mersal is overly clichéd oora-commercial film which appeals only for Vijay fans and for the rest,this one is passable entertainer.

My Rating 5.5/10

Touching on some serious corrupted medical practices in Tamil Nadu while as always bending reality to suit the protagonist.

Vijay continues to defy laws of gravity, physics and pretty much anything scientific, unless you add him to the list of superheroes popping out all over the world.

Mindless roles for the lead ladies in the movie other than being love interests and eye candy for catchy tunes except for Nithya Menon who delivered some good screentime.

S.J.Surya and Satyaraj give memorable performances but do not have a lot of screen time and Vadivelu pretty much repeats a lot of his previous comedic persona while Vijay also has his regular charming comedic side.

All in all a Vijay centric movie to quench his fans undying thirst but not something worth watching again if you're not.

Vijay's recent films a mixed bag, with a lot of good ones and a lot of extremely bad ones, but Mersal might stand out from this crowd as being almost entirely different from what he usually plays.

From his beautiful portrayal of the three roles that he suits up to his astounding screen presence, Vijay is a sure bet in any film. From a simple Farmer to a Magician, Vijay essays all his characters in style. AR Rahmaan's music was good, considering that he is one of the finest music directors in India, it's a kind of a let down for him. All the Heroines( Kajal, Samantha and Nithya ) essayed their roles perfectly, with almost no attachment that we feel to each character (pun intended). All the other roles were superbly done, especially by Sathyaraj and Kovai Sarala.

The Cinematography By GK Vishnu was not up to par, considering that Atlee usually pairs up with George C. Williams in the matter of cinematography. George knows how Atlee wants his film to be, where Vishnu fails miserable. Although he was able to scrap up a decent Masala-type atmosphere in every shot.

Vijayendra Prasad's story might have been the main attraction, considering that he wrote Baahubali, VP's script was lacking the need to explore different concepts, one thing he might have missed out. In a nutshell, the story is quite OK, just not into it.

From a seemingly OK 1st Half, the film stretches into a great Mass masala film. SJ Surya has done a exemplar job as the villain, providing Nail biting dialogues as well as a terrific job of acting out the ' Villain ' Scenes.

In short, Mersal is nothing more of a Mass Masala Flick ; the type that every Tamilian might have seen before.

Watch it for the Mass And Not For The Content.

My rating - 7.1 / 10