Movie Review: Rajnikanth’s 2.0

Movie Review: 2.0
Rating: 3/5
Director: S.Shankar
Cast: Rajnikant, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson

2.0 Movie Trailer

It’s been a long wait for superstar Rajinikanth’s “2.0”, which has finally hit the screens, and it can be said with assurance that it doesn’t disappoint. It takes a socially relevant environment related problem and gives it a science-fiction twist, which results in an insanely and illogically fun film that gets powered by breathtaking visuals and Rajinikanth in his effervescent self.

Set in a world where birds are facing extinction due to high emission of radiation from mobile towers, an ornithologist (Pakshi Rajan), played by Akshay Kumar, takes it upon himself to fight for the cause as he tries to make everyone understand that the world is not just a place for humans. However, when he realises all his efforts are going waste, he seeks revenge and the events that follow form the crux of the story.

The twists and surprises of 2.0 are predictable and the fact that the story follows the template set by the first film, doesn’t really add to the experience. But Shankar’s vision and his team’s technical wizardry with the visual effects creates a positive impact. Akshay Kumar’s shape-shifting antagonist Pakshi, made up of millions of cellphones is impressive to say the least. There are several moments in the movie that are quite memorable too. The sight of mobiles covering up an entire road, a forest and forming the giant eagle, are most certainly ‘wow’ worthy. But the scientific explanations provided for telekinetic control of mobile phones and the antagonist’s supernatural abilities aren’t all that convincing. Nevertheless, this is a Rajinikanth movie and questioning cinematic liberty and logic-defying creativity is unwarranted. Follow Spotlife Asia for the latest Entertainment and Lifestyle news.

“2.0” offers us multiple avatars of Rajinikanth and each version is better and funnier than its previous version. Rajinikanth returns as scientist Vaseegaran, a character he popularised in “Enthiran”, the first part of the franchise. He also returns as Chitti, the robot who later becomes 2.0, an upgraded version.

Rajinikanth’s performance and presence dominates the narrative. Shankar’s screenplay gives fans of the superstar plenty of moments to cheer for, especially with the fact that there are not one or two, but three iterations of his robotic character Chitti. Not just that, even the one-liners in the movie and the reference to Rajini’s numero uno status gives the fans plenty to cheer for. Akshay Kumar also gives a solid performance as the antagonist, especially in the flashback that reveals his character’s ornithology background. The presence of these two superstars is one of the main reasons why 2.0 feels like a grand, big-ticket movie.

The makeup and costumes are highlights of the movie, too. The effort to create Akshay’s character is really detailed you don’t need to be a VFX guru to realise that the characters of 2.0 really look authentic. The background score by AR Rahman and Qutub-E-Kripa also adds to feel of this futuristic film. While the movie certainly looks world-class, the writing doesn’t always live up to the expectations. It’s Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar’s star power that really saves the day for this magnum opus.