Mugamoodi Movie Review
Before heading to theatres, you have to clear your thoughts that Mugamoodi will be no Hollywood flick rather a Tamil movie, which has taken inspiration from the Hollywood superhero movies, made for the Kollywood audience. Directed by Mysskin, who is known for making critically-acclaimed films, the movie is a tribute to Chinese-American actor Bruce Lee.
Mysskin's approach to Mugamoodi is realistic, like before, and he has not tried to add unnecessary commercial elements. He has blended the qualities (in film) of Bruce Lee and Batman to give birth to our superhero. It has to be noted that he has not projected Jeeva as a man with extraordinary qualities taken birth to save his people, but a hero, who works within his limits to serve for a cause.
The movie kick-starts on a serious note and tries to draw your attention in the opening scene itself. A gang of robbers unsettle the city by robbing the riches and killing them. The issue awakes the cops after the gang loots for the seventh time. Cop Gaurav (Nassar) is being appointed to catch the culprits. We are also introduced to Bruce Lee aka Anand aka Mugamoodi, who has been trained in Kung Fu by Chandru (Selvaah), and the baddie played by Narain.
Being a jobless, Bruce Lee often lands in fights and gets nice tongue-lashing for his acts from his father. When his father points his finger at his guru for being useless to his family, the son objects his father's statement on his guru for his mistakes. During one of his fights, he gets caught by Shakti, the daughter of cop Gaurav, and she gets him arrested. His anger on her, turns to love in his second sight and in order to meet her at home, he dons the superman avatar, which accidentally makes him help the cops to catch a culprit involved in the robbery.
The outcome of the incident is that Bruce Lee learns a new form of Kung Fu, which is not thought by his guru, thereby giving hints of the latter's past. What is Chandru's flashback? How does his love for Shakti give a twist to the story? How Narain is connected to Chandru? Answers to all these questions should be seen on-screen.
The story of Mugamoodi, unlike Hollywood movies, is not a complex tale to understand. Mysskin does not hurry in his story telling and narrates it in his own time. The progress of the characters are slow and believable. It seems like the director wanted to make Mugamoodi a franchise, as the heroism of the superhero will only start in the later part of the second half.
The interesting factor about the movie is that it has not glorified the main roles with superhuman qualities rather restricted to human limits. Adding to that the fights, scenes and characters, all are realistic which have to be appreciated. Especially, the action sequences and chases are treat to watch.
Jeeva wins the show through his astounding performance. His acting is good but his action sequences get full marks. Narain has tried to imitate Joker - made famous by Heath Ledger - of The Dark Night and Pooja Hegde makes a good start in her career, as she has done decent job. Technically, Sathya's cinematography is brilliant, and K's three songs have already become chart busters. His background score has set the right mood to watch.
On the flip side, the slow narration and absence of the regular masala-element might not go well the some sections of the audience and there are jerks at screenplay. Mugamoodi would have a better appeal if the length of the movie would be reduced.
Verdict: It's worth a watch.
Tamil film Mugamoodi has all the makings of a successful film but ends up disappointing, writes Pavithra Srinivasan
An antagonist who prances about like a James Bond [ Images ] villain; armies of kung-fu experts who still adhere to samurai-like rules in the 21st century; a heroine who is supposed to be as dynamic as the hero but ends up falling in love with him on first sight; an entire battalion of cops who are extremely ineffectual, and one masked superhero who bashes everyone and everything to pulp.
UTV Motion Pictures's Mugamoodi (Mask) has everything: Jiiva, who has proven himself a capable lead, a pretty heroine, excellent music from K, and a director who has always made movies off the beaten track and tasted some success: Mysskin.
This time, the team brings us a fantastic superhero tale, born and bred in our own backyard, who declares that he is in no way less than Hollywood's Batman, Spiderman or Ironman (as the villain keeps shrieking in the movie).
Credit goes to Mysskin for attempting to popularise a Chennai-based superhero and he's paid a great deal of homage to his idol Bruce Lee, both in the beginning and the end of the movie, not to mention the many martial arts sequences that Jiiva has performed with much aplomb.
He's also been "inspired" a good deal by at least half-a-dozen Hollywood flicks and world movies, beginning with the opening credits for Mugamoodi itself.
The movie starts on an interesting note: a group of highly skilled burglars (who might almost be rogue Samurai warriors, considering their get-up and masks), armed with the latest in technology, commit a series of heists and murders all over the city and Gaurav (Nasser) is brought in by the Tamil Nadu police in a desperate bid to unravel them.
Meantime, there's Anand aka Bruce Lee (Jiiva), a Kung-Fu exponent who reveres his master and won't stand for injustice. Of course, he falls for the pretty Shakthi (Pooja Hegde), who actually has the temerity to oppose him.
Lee, unfortunately, has a father who berates him all the time for loafing about, unemployed, but his eccentric grandfather (Girish Karnad), an inventor of sorts, understands his quirks.
It's a reasonably good set-up, and might even have worked had the director not resorted to cardboard cut-out characters and scenes like something out of a medieval Japanese street-play.
Mysskin's love of dramatic moments is well-known, but here, he goes overboard and sacrifices logic and commonsense to startling moments that rarely gel with the screenplay.
Several times the hero, heroine and villain strike poses and spout dialogues that make you want to laugh.
In the second half, as the villain (Narain) strutted in wearing coats, gloves and mask, the theatre erupted in giggles.
What was worse was Girish Karnad smoking a pipe attired like Sherlock Holmes, not to mention the complete ineffectualness of the Tamil Nadu police force, who actually let villains walk away at one point, masks and all. The climax, especially, is a hoot.
Jiiva has obviously given his best, and his martial arts sequences are worthy of applause. Pooja Hegde has little to do; Nasser, Girish Karnad et al are wasted.
Gaugin's editing and Sathya's cinematography are flawless, but they can do little to lift a movie filled with theatrics.
Jiiva's transformation from Bruce Lee to Mugamoodi is explained in a very lacklustre fashion, and nowhere are you invested in the characters at any time.
A superhero movie such as this requires a willing suspension of disbelief, but to give up on realism entirely, is too much. There are very few of Mysskin's signature touches and many scenes appear contrived and artificial.
This superhero might have the best of intentions, but Mysskin's screenplay fails him spectacularly.
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