'Mugamoodi' (Tamil)
Director: Mysskin
Cast: Jiiva, Narain, Pooja Hegde, Selva, Nasser, Girish Karnad
Its a canvas more lavish than the director’s earlier films.
And the most ambitious too, as he attempts to create a home-bred ‘superhero’ on to the Tamil screen.
Hollywood has had its share of them, and nearer home there was the half-baked 'Rajapattai'.
And now comes what has been touted by the makers as the first superhero on Tamil celluloid- Mugamoodi.
The inspiration for the plot seems to be an amalgam of Hollywood superheroes, particularly the Dark Knight.
The villain of the piece Angusamy rightly puts it, as he taunts the hero with, ‘...Batman, Superman, Spiderman and now Mugamoodi !’.
The first half moves at a fast pace, with some exciting chases and some stunning visuals (Sathya). Where protagonist Anand aka Lee (as in Bruce Lee), trains at a run down martial arts school under the sober silent Chandru (Selva in a comeback role).
A brooding figure Chandru gets his space towards the end when he narrates his past to Lee and meets his old nemesis face to face.
Lee taking up for his master, and wooing Shakti (a bubbly Pooja), the daughter of a top cop (Nasser), makes up the first half. His nocturnal trips include a trip to Shakti’s house to woo her, and chasing the criminal elements he encounters.
The Superman costume that he sports as a disguise to woo Shakthi, and the other he wears at a later stage, is neither relevant to the scenario nor suitable to the actor.
Jiiva’s lighter scenes does him more credit than the ‘superman’ ones.
As in most superhero films, the girl dislikes Lee but loves his alter ego ‘Mugamoodi’. The scenes are laced with humour. There is a long exciting chase scene, and a couple of well choreographed Kung fu stunts.
The director who has worked out his script meticulously in the first half, seems to lose his plot midway.
The second half is listless, meandering and the long winded climax falling flat. In such a scenario, the film’s length is a further deterrent.
The film fails to live up to its much hype and anticipation.