A superhero who straight up murders the mentally ill antagonist? Really? I badly wanted this movie to do well because Malayalam cinema certainly has the potential to do so. This is by no means a bad movie, but fails to capture the heart of what a Hero is.
To start with some of the positives, the movie had some very fine acting. I like how they took the time to develop the lead characters (especially the villain) and set up the vibe of the village and it's people. However, the runtime could still have been trimmed considerably since I felt they took forever to get to the main conflict of the story. I think it's admirable they didn't try to make this a cheap Hollywood imitation, but instead tried to stay rooted to what a common man/woman in India can relate to even if they aren't familiar with the superhero genre or aren't science-nerds. I like that they tried to portray the hero as flawed and shows him learning to be a better man.
But that's also where the problem begins. His whole motivation seems focussed on becoming a 'hero', having people look up to him (just because he has superpowers and is able to save them) and to garner praise. His motivation doesn't come from a basic, decent need to help people - heroes are heroes because they DON'T think what they do is heroic but as the bare minimum they can do.
I would say it is understandable how he tries to beat up the bully policemen at first using his new powers. I suppose he DIDN'T want to hurt the Bruce-Lee lady - but even if it happened accidentally, he doesn't show any remorse for hurting an innocent person or learn from this. He decides to chase down Dasan's killer from a personal vendetta. He even leaves the bus full of peope in peril to pursue the villain - I'm not entirely convinced he'd have stayed to save the people had the villain not left. Next, when the people are rounding in on the villain who the hero knows can easily take them out, he just leaves! Out of fear of outing himself? Then he sulks in prison, and then continues to sulk after he hears the entire village is in peril? His 'heroic' slow-motion walk is completely unearned. Then of course comes killing the villain, who acted out of his mental-illness and needed help - guess it's not this Hero's job to set a good example of compassion and forgiveness.
All the self-aggrandising talk about being a hero at the end was unbearable. I also feel they ruined all the character development of the villain, of a person driven to crime through society and circumstances, by having that old man say he was pure evil all along (with the bull story). It's also problematic to portray mentally ill people as dangerous and evil, and this is a problem movies across the world have.
To reiterate the main criticism I have for the movie - the hero was not much of a hero. I can understand if this will be developed further in any sequels, but's it's still not ok to not acknowledge the flaws in this movie and instead elevate him to the stature of a hero that he doesn't yet deserve with zero humility. Want to know who I think is indeed a hero in this movie? Bruce Lee. She stood up to a super-powered menace at the school annual day celebration. She empowers kids to protect themself. She is a supportive and loyal friend, and at the end she saves the day by diffusing the bombs. That scene where Murali is doing his superhero pose cutting back to show Bruce Lee sitting there smiling at having saved her village ... unintentionally ironic.
To start with some of the positives, the movie had some very fine acting. I like how they took the time to develop the lead characters (especially the villain) and set up the vibe of the village and it's people. However, the runtime could still have been trimmed considerably since I felt they took forever to get to the main conflict of the story. I think it's admirable they didn't try to make this a cheap Hollywood imitation, but instead tried to stay rooted to what a common man/woman in India can relate to even if they aren't familiar with the superhero genre or aren't science-nerds. I like that they tried to portray the hero as flawed and shows him learning to be a better man.
But that's also where the problem begins. His whole motivation seems focussed on becoming a 'hero', having people look up to him (just because he has superpowers and is able to save them) and to garner praise. His motivation doesn't come from a basic, decent need to help people - heroes are heroes because they DON'T think what they do is heroic but as the bare minimum they can do.
I would say it is understandable how he tries to beat up the bully policemen at first using his new powers. I suppose he DIDN'T want to hurt the Bruce-Lee lady - but even if it happened accidentally, he doesn't show any remorse for hurting an innocent person or learn from this. He decides to chase down Dasan's killer from a personal vendetta. He even leaves the bus full of peope in peril to pursue the villain - I'm not entirely convinced he'd have stayed to save the people had the villain not left. Next, when the people are rounding in on the villain who the hero knows can easily take them out, he just leaves! Out of fear of outing himself? Then he sulks in prison, and then continues to sulk after he hears the entire village is in peril? His 'heroic' slow-motion walk is completely unearned. Then of course comes killing the villain, who acted out of his mental-illness and needed help - guess it's not this Hero's job to set a good example of compassion and forgiveness.
All the self-aggrandising talk about being a hero at the end was unbearable. I also feel they ruined all the character development of the villain, of a person driven to crime through society and circumstances, by having that old man say he was pure evil all along (with the bull story). It's also problematic to portray mentally ill people as dangerous and evil, and this is a problem movies across the world have.
To reiterate the main criticism I have for the movie - the hero was not much of a hero. I can understand if this will be developed further in any sequels, but's it's still not ok to not acknowledge the flaws in this movie and instead elevate him to the stature of a hero that he doesn't yet deserve with zero humility. Want to know who I think is indeed a hero in this movie? Bruce Lee. She stood up to a super-powered menace at the school annual day celebration. She empowers kids to protect themself. She is a supportive and loyal friend, and at the end she saves the day by diffusing the bombs. That scene where Murali is doing his superhero pose cutting back to show Bruce Lee sitting there smiling at having saved her village ... unintentionally ironic.