Watch TrailerLeo Movie Review: The most exciting fact about Leo, when it was originally announced, was the reunion of filmmaker Lokesh Kanagaraj and Vijay and the whole idea of it being a part of LCU (Lokesh Cinematic Universe). After leaving a strong mark with his uniquely entertaining films such as Kaithi and Vikram, Kanagaraj takes a quantum leap to attempt something highly ambitious with Vijay, who is inarguably one of the biggest stars in the country. Leo, an action thriller, is the filmmaker’s attempt at going big in terms of vision and scale which is only let down by lethargic writing.
Let’s get it straight, the story of Leo isn’t anything new, so everything lies in the treatment of the screenplay. Parthiban aka Parthi (Vijay) runs a coffee shop in Himachal Pradesh and is happily married to Sathya (Trisha) with two kids. One day he is attacked by ruthless gangsters Antony Das (Sanjay Dutt) and Harold Das (Arjun Sarja), who assume Parthiban as Anthony’s son Leo Das. What happens next? How does Parthi handle the mayhem? Is Parthiban Leo Das? These questions form the crux of the film.
Kanagaraj tries to take the ‘Vikram’ route once again retaining the family-thriller formula, but the mixed genres instead of complementing each other, annihilate each other’s space. The thrilling story does intrigue you using its smart traps and some interesting action pieces but it just loses momentum on switching between a pacy actioner, and a lame family story.
The filmmaker has surely catered to Vijay’s fans by including several applause-worthy moments, which will make fans jump in their seats. Parthiban is one of the neatly fleshed-out characters in the world of Leo. He is unapologetic and is willing to go to any extent to save his family. He stands up and doesn’t care about the consequences. One of the biggest highlights of the film is the background scene. Anirudh rarely disappoints and the same is the case with Leo. He raised the bar with Rajinikant’s Jailer and the BGM in Leo isn’t there but it’s the real deal.
However, the film is bogged down by the lack of inventiveness. There is no powerful villain to take on Vijay and make the proceedings interesting. It is Vijay’s show all the way and he headlines this clichéd thriller. The action sequences, which were highly talked about much before release, stand out and Vijay kills it with his charisma in these scenes. There are places where style supersedes substance, so much so that you can’t enjoy it after a point. The filmmaker tries to be imaginative and break out of clichés but he keeps using the oldest tricks in the book whenever he runs out of ideas. The story very clearly (and rightly so) keeps Vijay as the centre of attraction, but the problem starts when he’s the ‘only’ centre of attraction because there’s not much happening around him.
Thalapathy Vijay’s performance is easily one of the highpoints of Leo. Trisha gets a decent screen time, but her character doesn’t add much value to the story. Filmmaker Gautham Vasudev Menon has given an effortless performance. On the other hand, Sanjay Dutt is unfortunately wasted in the film. His charisma seems to be missing and his character looks weak in front of Vijay’s character in the film.
Despite a promising premise, Kangaraj falls for the very similar filmmaking trap of compromising style with substance. It’s not that there’s nothing significant here but there are a lot of insignificant speed-breakers which become the issue. The almost three-hour run time also makes you a bit iffy in your seat. The connection between Kaithi and Vikram to create the LCU seems a bit forced. If only the makers would have kept the action at the core, this would’ve been an amazing attempt majorly because of its cinematic style.
All said and done, this is pure entertainment fodder for Vijay fans and one should rightfully expect the same from it. But if you’re looking for a solid storyline this one is not for you. Far from roaring, Leo just squeaks past for its few moments of some action sequences and Vijay’s terrific screen presence.
