A set of hockey players, led by Prabhakaran (Hiphop Tamizha) fight to save the ground they practise on, from an MNC. They have to win a match against an established club in order to achieve this. Natpe Thunai, therefore could have been a very interesting sports drama. However, till the end of the first half, we don't understand if it is a romantic drama, or a sports slugfest, or a political film.

This is caused because of the writing or the lack of one. While this kind of films can be tagged as a popcorn entertainer for youth audience, the film banks on many references to top actors from all states. There are innumerable references for Rajinikanth, Vijay, Yash(KGF), Mammootty, and Mohanlal that could have been avoided. This not being enough, the film tries to create a sense of hyper-nationalistic pride of being a Tamizhan, irrelevant to the plot. Or if you want to be proud of the Tamil culture, why glorify stalking, or have jokes that demean women, that is certainly not 'Tamil' culture?

There is a joke about a woman's looks, where Shah Ra's character looks at a girl and says "Avala yen try pannanum, Koopta Vara pora!" In addition, there is a joke that trivializes the Me Too movement, and it certainly wasn't in good taste. The only funny moments occur in the final portions of the film, where a hockey match is taking place, and the commentator is on a roll with his timing and one liners. But, with the match being of utmost importance, the placement of comedy makes us not take the film as a whole, but even the serious portions seriously.

There are a lot of inconsistencies in the writing, as well as the film itself. Till the end of the first half, we do not know what Prabha wants to achieve. He comes to the town of Karaikal for a reason, but at no point does the film show him working towards it.

Post the surprising interval block, the film tries to make us invest in the plot and take it seriously. There is an emotional flashback portion, that is cliched, but still works. Again, how significant it is to the plot, is a question we ask ourselves. The film solely banks on the star value of Hiphop Tamizha, who carries it on his shoulders. He does manage to entertain you, and his presence makes the hockey portions engrossing. Eruma Saani Vijay excels in his role that is of good significance and not just for comedic value. Debutant Anagha doesn't have a big role except for the songs. Harish Uthaman as an ex-armyman cum hockey coach has played his role well.

There is also a political angle to the sports drama, that has a terrific Karu Palaniappan as the antagonist. The way politics affects the lives of these hockey players were realistically shown. Just when there were concerns about his character painted with a black shade, the dialogues after the climax provides proper closure. 

The three song sequences that appear in the first half are out of place. They look like separate music videos, interspersed with a half baked romantic subplot. The Kerala song is the pick of the lot, which was visually shot well with some candid moments. On the other hand, the background score uplifts the hockey match portions to keep you glued to the screen. The movie does entertain at a lot of places. But the lack of logic and writing strictly makes this a one-time watchable film. Had it focussed more on the sports, rather than the drama, this could have been on another level.