2.0 Review - Visual Magic.

What gave Shankar the conviction to make 2.0? On paper, it’s nutty. It’s outlandish, silly and idiosyncratic. On screen, at least for the first hour, it is magic. That is a testament to his larger-than-life direction style. Every single frame in 2.0 is visually beautiful, poetry in motion and a love letter to cinema. It is concocted with such care, that as Chitti (Rajnikanth) meats out justice, you can’t help but hoot. If only, the same amount of love was given to the storyline. Because after that stunning first half, the energy takes a nosedive.

The film stars Rajnikanth as Dr. Vaseegaran, picking up right where we left off, eight years ago after Enthiran (2010). There, he had to disassemble his beloved robot, Chitti, for wreaking havoc on mankind. The conflict of that film involved an evil AIRD Official played by Danny Denzongpa. Here, Akshay Kumar plays Pakshi Rajan, an optimistic ornithologist who commits suicide - only to be reincarnated as a menacing version of himself, with eyebrows that could give Groucho Marx a run for his money. It’s positively absurd, but in an exhilarating way.

The story sets into motion, right after the film’s sumptuous opening credits. I don’t think I’ve seen a ‘Superstar’ name being portrayed with such care on the big screen before. But, I digress. The common public is distressed when cell phones literally start flying out of people’s hands. Vaseegaran proposes that Chitti be reassembled, which the chief minister is a staunch opponent of. But this is Rajnikanth, and this is no spoiler, you know exactly who wins that argument. It sets the stage for an epic showdown.

The film is suspenseful, all while maintaining the right amount of whimsy. It remains wholly in awe of the beast it has created, and as long as Shankar as is dazzled by this world - so are we. It’s enthralling, all while being rooted in reality and a moral, here, discussing the adverse effects of cell phones on birds. Shankar takes a risky move, making his villain’s motivation a morally righteous path. But, it works, that is until the film delves into Pakshi’s slow-moving and quite frankly, boring storyline.

It’s hard to hide the gaping plot holes and the lack of turgidity in the emotional quotient of the film, but the dazzling action sequences do a pretty good job. You’ll be so busy hooting and cheering that you’ll forget about a missing additional layer. But, when Shankar raises the stakes and we go into a nearly 30-minute backstory in a backstory, he loses your attention, because the melodrama is pitchy, annoying and underlined. There’s not a subtle bone in the body of this superstar vehicle, and it shows especially when its director tries to crank up the decibel levels - not in the way of bones breaking, but tears shedding.

The first half of 2.0 is technically and logically stunning. Everything seamlessly blends together to create a canvas of digital beauty. The colour palettes are carefully selected. I found the use of cell phones to make a road, and even a bedroom the most inventive. At one point, they even glow in the body of a minister, who then proceeds to explode because the cell phone rings. It’s zany, but you buy into it - especially since the film’s technicians - music director, AR Rahman, VFX supervisor Srinivas Mohan, cinematographer Nirav Shah, sound designer Resul Pookutty and editor Anthony - are working so damn hard. In fact, from what I hear, 2.0 has been in development since early 2015. The film went on floors later that year.

It’s inevitable that over 3 years a film’s vision and trajectory has to change. Indeed, both the precision and the cracks show. Every scene is intricately layered, yet seems ornate and lifeless. The film struggles and in the climax in which the robot, version 2.0, bashes up Pakshi - you are long past caring, and clearly so are the writers. Because the resolutions at this point are simplistic, lazy and dumbed down. The intricacies lose all meaning and even a hint of subtlety takes a backseat to bold and underlined emotions. But, the talent is so gloriously evident, you can’t miss 2.0.

Akshay Kumar is absolutely spectacular. Even behind all those prosthetics - in one scene, he wears this huge bird helmet with large wings made entirely of cell phones - he charges Pakshi with a self-righteousness. He believes what he’s doing is for the greater good. He’s spectacular. Amy Jackson is surprisingly self-aware. Shankar trusts his audiences and uses Amy as Nila, to show us the misogyny that is embedded within our DNA. While Chitti casually remarks about Nila’s astonishingly good looks, many people laughed - clearly something Shankar wanted, to show us how anti-women we really can be.

But, Rajnikanth, though he may be bashing baddies, left, right and centre (seriously, in the climax, there are a million mini-replicas of the aged actor), just lacks a certain charisma. The charm is full on, but as Chitti and Vaseegaran, even his persona can’t carry a film like this.

Luckily, his director’s vision is there to save the day. 2.0 is a sensory overload, and at places, flat-out-tedious. But I can’t recommend it enough.