Ace Movie Review: Vijay Sethupathi, Yogi Babu deliver the laughs in this chaotic and convenient caper
Ace(3 / 5)
In Ace, multiple things keep happening at the same time. There is so much chaos, and a lot more convenience. But it is that kind of film where we know everything will fall in place, simply because what’s the point otherwise? When we watch Ocean’s Eleven, we want the protagonists to steal and escape. Or closer home, when we watch Sadhuranga Vettai, we want the heist to be successful because it is cathartic to see a well-laid plan come into fruition despite all odds. Just like every Indian heist film, there is a larger reason for the protagonists to indulge in this crime, but writer-director Arumugakumar doesn’t aim for the stars in Ace. His reason is simple, his heist is simpler, and the execution is simplest. Then what holds the film together? The chaos.
Cast: Vijay Sethupathi, Rukmini Vasanth, Yogi Babu, Divya Pillai
Director: Arumugakumar
At one point in Ace, a dreaded loan shark Dharma (BS Avinash) is chasing Bolt Kannan (Vijay Sethupathi), Arivu (Yogi Babu), Kalpana (Divya Pillai) and Rukku (Rukmini Vasanth). Dharma’s henchman channelises his inner KGF voice and hypes up Kannan as this embodiment of courage and bravado. You know it is too much for the film and the character. But it comes just before the final hurrah, and the elevation of the hero is par for the course. We have grudgingly accepted this to be the norm. But this is a Vijay Sethupathi film, and there is a cool subversion to all of this. It makes you smile. And this is the biggest strength of Ace because there are enough little detours, random one-liners, slight tonal shifts, and minuscule bursts of energy to liven up the proceedings whenever it decides to coast instead of revving ahead.
The film is entirely set in Malaysia, and it adds a lot of flavour to the narrative. Apart from a few drone shots of the high-rise buildings, the film largely uses the colourful markets, the bustling streets, and the busy people to its advantage. It isn’t like Malaysia is a thriving character in the film, but it isn’t just a prop either. This conviction-meets-convenience approach keeps Ace in good standing. And it is best seen in the way romance develops between Kannan and Rukku. Of course, it starts with a classic case of misunderstanding, and it blossoms into love. This might not be an all-encompassing love story, but it is largely pleasant.
It is this romance that sets the ball rolling in Ace, and one thing leads to another, and Kannan and team are in the crosshairs of gangster Dharma and police officer Rajadurai (Babloo Prithviraj). The ragtag group led by Kannan owes them both a lot of money, and this leads to a heist, a comedy of errors, and convenient chaos. And it is Yogi Babu’s relentless one-liners, a poker-faced Vijay Sethupathi, an earnest Divya, and an assured Rukmini that carefully take us through the rest of the narrative.
The film’s strength lies in the comic timing of Yogi Babu, and the way Vijay Sethupathi and he play off each other. It is nice to see them play characters that are at each other’s throats at all times, and yet work together. They scold each other, insult each other, and call each other names. Are the choice of words always right? Not really. But that seems okay because their relationship is based on mutual disrespect for each other, and even if they don’t strike comedy gold together, they try their best.
The same holds good for Rukku and Kannan’s romantic track, which is solely reliant on the actors being convincing. There is something alluring about Vijay Sethupathi doing romance, especially when he is asked to just be stoic and let his eyes do all the talking. There are just intense stares with a hint of a smile here, and a semblance of a laugh there. Interestingly, he is the more lively one in the equation, as Rukku is a character more burdened by life. Points to Arumugakumar for writing a character who is hapless but isn’t exactly waiting for a saviour. This lends a lot of credence to her role, and Rukmini plays it with quiet dignity. It is wonderful to watch Rukku fall in love with Kannan simply because it might have been love at first sight for him, but she takes her time, and it is nice to see her get comfortable with him before falling in love. Considering the genre of Ace, it is nice to see the writing spend so much time in establishing this quaint and understated romance.
But they soon enter into heist territory, and there is no place for such moments. It is just a series of chaotic and convenient occurrences. There is a poker game. There is a loan shark. There is a bank. There is a perverted police officer. There is coercion. There is an ailing mother. There is a heist. There is a home that needs to be bought back. There is a chase. There is another chase. There is one more chase. There is a henchman who is quite the challenge for the hero on more than one occasion. There is a police team on the chase. Oh, and there is also a random lottery and a jackpot. And in between all of this, there are various attempts to make us laugh, which meet with varying results.
Also, there is no real sense of urgency in the 156-minute film, especially in the heist sequence, which isn’t built on smarts. It is quite generic and one-note to a fault. Even the stunt sequences peppered throughout the film ran the risk of giving us the same feeling, but the filmmaker’s decision to involve Yogi Babu in all these scenes adds the right amount of levity to slightly offset the genericity. Quite a few scenes overstay their welcome, and this results in a few comedy scenes not landing the laughs, action scenes not landing the punch, and romantic scenes not sweeping us off our feet.
Nevertheless, in some ways, it is nice to see a star like Vijay Sethupathi indulge in a film like Ace. In fact, this is a clear pattern in his filmography. His previous three films were Merry Christmas, Maharaja, and Viduthalai 2. Ace is his version of letting his hair down. It is like how he did a Sangathamizhan after 96, Seethakathi, and Super Deluxe. It is like him doing Rekka after Dharma Durai, Iraivi and Aandavan Kattalai. Ace is the kind of film that doesn’t really have a takeaway. We have grown up watching such films. Ace isn’t just a star vehicle. It isn’t a social commentary. It isn’t dealing with pertinent themes. It isn’t aiming to cater to realism and logic. What it simply does is tell a random story and finds various ways to keep it entertaining. Ace might not have completely aced it, but it tries its best. And on most days and for most films, that’s more than what we can ask for.