24- Review

First of a kind science fiction time travel drama written and directed by Vikram K Kumar starring Suriya in triple roles. What is really surprising and heartening to see was that Suriya who was in dire need of a hit chose to produce this not so run of the mill mainstream movie. Suriya the actor has done full justice to all three roles in the film by differentiating the roles from each other. The menacing Athreya is definitely one of Suriya's best. The cinematography of the movie deserves special mention because with whatever limited resources are available in Kollywood, Thiru has managed to nail the mood of the movie to perfection. The time freeze sequences are a real visual highlight in the film achieved by a combination of excellence in VFX and the cinematography. The music of the movie didn't make much of an impression and the score could have been better. The art direction in the film is also noteworthy.

Vikram Kumar has proved his ability at writing gripping & engaging screenplays with Yaavarum Nalam and Manam. When it comes to 24 it was a mixed bag, there were flashes of brilliance and not so engaging plot points/twists. The whole romance portion I thought was kept in the film in the eventuality of the main core story not going down well with the audience. Vikram Kumar managed to use it to his advantage at certain places. Even if one goes back in time, one couldn't control everything was so subtly conveyed in the Sathyan - Samantha Bun scene referencing the climax. But in many Samantha portions, it started to become an interference in the otherwise engaging and intense script in a way that it was overdone  to impact the main tone of the film. The screenplay did not have the finesse of Yaavarum Nalam. The scheme/plan of the antagonist Athreya in present day did not match his intelligence as portrayed. 

Some theory to back the time travel experiment however inaccurate that could have added more credence to the story telling. There were certain plot points in screenplay which demanded more attention to detail and research. Won’t there be replays in cricket matches? If a leading watchmaker, businessman and scientist gets killed, wont that be reported? Is it that easy to impersonate him? How could a watch mechanic just add a date dial to possibly one of the greatest invention of all time and improve the device’s capabilities several fold over night?  The trade off of logic for drama didn't work very well at all places. Having said all that, the core story, characters and the screenplay weaved around them were expertly done in a way which was new to Tamil Cinema. Vikram Kumar is surely one of the best minds working in the Indian Film Industry. 24 the movie is a step in the right direction. Kudos to Vikram Kumar and Suriya for taking on a new concept and candy wrapping it in an entertaining manner. Watch it in the theatres