'2.0' Review: Worth a watch for its technical brilliance

Being the most expensive Indian film to be ever made on a budget of Rs 600 crore, the 3D visuals and top-notch VFX of the film impress us right from the first frame. The film opens with a man committing suicide by hanging himself from a mobile tower. In the next scene, we see mobile phones flying away from people’s hands — a logical flaw here is that a constable in the background continues using his mobile. We are introduced to Vaseegaran (Rajinikanth), assisted by Nila (Amy Jackson), a humanoid to solve the mystery behind this supernatural occurrence. 

We see a giant sparrow made of mobile phones, attacking the city. The best thing is that, Shankar within 15 minutes into the film conveys how Indian cinema and technology is geared up for Superhero films like Marvel and how the visuals can look great despite having Chennai as the story backdrop. However, the theme of the story is very similar to Enthiran and even other Tamil films for that cause. A highly predictable storyline has been stretched to two and a half hours. The only thing we’d look forward to in the story is the flashback of Pakshirajan (Akshay Kumar) and what agitates him to return as a fifth force. 

2.0 cannot be restricted to one genre as it has touched upon several different subjects, which doesn’t guarantee us entertainment throughout. The grandeur in the first half of the film is seen through roads and forests lit up by mobile phones and the giant bird that destroys the city. The flashback in the second half and the climax fight in the second half provide for some exciting watch. Rajini’s power-packed performances as Chitti, Chitti 2.0 and Chitti 3.0 have overshadowed Vaseegaran’s character. Akshay Kumar as Pakshirajan is a class act. At one point he makes us sit back and think of the message in the film. However, the message gets hidden in the overwhelming technical special effects. 

Amy Jackson’s role of Nila is a dream role for any heroine. From riding bikes to fighting the villain, Amy lights up the screen with her flamboyance. Nirav Shah’s cinematography is one of the heroes of the film. 3D visuals and his portrayal of Chennai’s landscape, is definitely a calling for foreign films in terms of technology. AR Rahman and Qutub-E-Kripa’s background music add value to the scale and grandeur. Overall, 2.0 is an entertaining watch for its splendour and not for the plot. 

Cast: Rajinikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudanshu Pandey, Adil Hussain, Kalabhavan Shajon, Isari Ganesh and Anant Mahadevan

Director: S Shankar 

Composer: (Songs) AR Rahman (Background Score): AR Rahman and Qutub-E-Kripa

Synopsis: An ornithologist commits suicide by hanging from a mobile network tower and comes back as a fifth force to take revenge on humans as he feels that radiation from mobile towers have made many species of birds extinct. There is only one thing that could stop him from doing this, Chitti the robot.   

Rating:  3.5/5