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Villu– The deplorable Soldier! |
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| Behindwoods
Movie Review Board |
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Starring:
Vijay, Nayanthara, Vadivelu.
Direction: Prabhu Deva
Music:
Devi Sri Prasad
Production: Ayngaran International |
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Let’s first get things straight: Villu is Prabhu Deva’s
version of the Hindi box office hit Soldier. It dawns on you
as the movie progresses and sadly when your next seat neighbor
is an over-enthusiastic bloke who can’t help but revealing
the incidents of Soldier in correlation with Villu, you have
no choice other than to blame your stars (as in, astrological
ones). Having said that, we do not mean Prabhu Deva made a
good adaptation of Soldier – not that if he attempted
it, things would’ve been any better. With tacky production
values, shabby cinematography and amateurish direction Villu
comes across as a more than two-hour long torment that only
less people deserve – those who have committed some
unpardonable crime, perhaps. |
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Prabhu
Deva cannot be excused in a lifetime for conceiving
Vijay’s scarecrow entry – it happens in
a laundry place and Vijay flies across and lands gathering
all the lengthy and colorful garments entwined on his
body making him look no less than a scarecrow. Thankfully
enough, Vijay does not have too many punch dialogues
though – this time around he attempts to impress
his fans using his antics in fights and gathering sentiments.
That’s not to mention that his dialogues double
up to serve the purpose of punch one liners. And there
are these amateur stunt scenes – Vijay emerges
unscathed invariably in all of them. In land, water
and on air, that is. He also plays a double role of
that of a father and a son. And with that Prabhu Deva
has successfully made the army operations appear as
if it were a one-man-attempt. And the atrocious dialogue
– that the only benefit of being in the army is
the subsidized liquor – is inexcusable.
Villu’s story is reminiscent of the prehistoric
Tamil cinema formulas – son taking revenge over
his father’s killers to satiate his mother’s
wishes. And of course, there is time for love, double
crossing, comedy and some sentiments in the midst.
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Nayan’s presence serves the purpose of eye candy –
she wears micro minis (she even asks you so in one of the
songs), bras disguised as tops, dangerously low-waist skirts
and spaghetti tops. Whatever happened to that naïve
and talented girl of Ayya and Manasinakkara? Although Vadivelu’s
unimaginative comedy track (yes, the track has absolutely
no connection whatsoever with the movie’s main plot)
is boisterous and loud, it serves as a saving grace for
the movie in many instances.
Prakash Raj, Anandraj, Manoj K Jeyan, Geetha, Ranjitha and
Pandu’s roles are shoddily developed. The atrociously
plump Kushboo ends up performing the title item number,
partly voiced by Kovai Sarala. Now that reminds us of the
forgettable music – except for a couple of songs that
could be favored by the front benchers, the music and rerecording
are largely intolerable.
Ravi Varman’s cinematography disappoints after a grand
show in Dasavatharam. Chase sequences in particular could
have been handled better.
For all these reasons Villu, in all probability, could even
tire out the loyal fans.
Verdict – Not worth risking your patience!
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