Leo Release Date: October 19, 2023.
Movie Review: 2.75 out of 5.
Starring: Gautham Vasudev Menon, Priya Anand, Mysskin, Mansoor Ali Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Trisha, Arjun, and Thalapathy Vijay
Lokesh Kanagaraj, director
Lalit Kumar, producer
Anirudh Ravichander is the music director.
Manoj Paramahamsa is the cinematographer.
Publisher: Philomin Raj
Together with extraordinary director Lokesh Kanagaraj, box office emperor Thalapathy Vijay directed the action drama Leo. Since its release, there has been much anticipation for the movie, and it has now attained previously unheard-of heights. Leo is expected to cause chaos at the ticket windows, based on the advance reservations. Let’s see if the highly anticipated movie lived up to the hype or not.
Leo Movie Story
Himachal Pradesh’s Parthiban (Thalapathy Vijay) owns and operates a cafe in Theog. Living with his spouse Satya (Trisha) and their two kids, he is an ordinary family man. One day, a few thugs break into Parthiban’s cafe and make threats to murder both his daughter and a staff member. When Parthiban has no other choice but to kill the gangsters, his family finds themselves in hot water. Gangsters Antony Das (Sanjay Dutt) and Harold Das (Arjun), who think Parthiban is their family member Leo Das (Thalapathy Vijay), enter his life during all of this drama. Just who is this Leo Das? How did he end up? How in the world did Parthiban escape all of this chaos? This, the remainder of the movie revolves around.
Leo Movie Plus Points:
Almost all of the first half of the movie is interesting. This place moves slowly on purpose. We enter the world of Parthiban with the hyena scene and the subsequent family drama. The process is moving at a perfectly leisurely pace. The idea was to neatly establish the world of the protagonist and the characters. The cafe fight scene is the high point of the film.
Because of the effective portrayal of Vijay’s vulnerability, the action scenes in the first hour are extremely satisfying. Not only is Vijay a superstar, but he is also a skilled actor. Thalapathy Vijay’s acting prowess is expertly portrayed by Leo. Well-staged fight scenes in the first half are intercut with engaging action sequences thanks to Vijay’s performance.
The interval block does a good job of setting the stage for the second half. Leo has some really strong action scenes with well-chosen cinematography. Trisha does well in her position. The pre-climax and climax scenes of the film have a faster pacing. Yes, the movie is a part of the LCU, and fans of the franchise will enjoy a few moments of this. Finally, there’s a little surprise.
Leo Movie Minus Points:
Since it determines the scope of the movie, the second half is always crucial. However, the majority of movies these days suffer from the second-hour syndrome. Unfortunately, Leo is also included in this group. The writing style used in the flashback sections is actually quite unexpected. Writing this pale would be uncharacteristic of someone like Lokesh Kanagaraj.
After the intermission, the pacing slows down once more, with little narrative development. However, a few scenes carry the action through to the start of the flashback section, which is where the movie loses its momentum. The poor writing detracts from Sanjay Dutt and Arjun’s impact. As stated, the writing department must take responsibility for this.
Priya Anand and other actors play supporting roles in the film. In the second half, a well-known actress plays a crucial role that is ill-designed. The supposed poignant moments are flat. The Naa Ready song is a huge letdown, but the Telugu dubbing is good. The fight scene in the cafe is accompanied by a Tamil song.
Technical Features:
Parts of Anirudh’s background score are strong. Comparing it to his greatest works, such as Master and Vikram, it is not as good. Due to poor translation, the songs also failed to make an impression. Manoj Paramahamsa’s cinematography is incredible. The action block in the flashback sequence featured excellent camera movement. While the first hour’s editing is excellent, the second half’s quality is subpar. The hyena scene had good visual effects. The VFX in the car chase scene is mediocre because the entire scene has a cartoonish appearance.
Regarding the director, Lokesh Kanagaraj, he performed a passably good job working with Leo. Lokesh played a clean first half, but he was unable to maintain the same pace in the second. Undoubtedly, we have seen this story a number of times, but the telling of the story is what counts most. With his films, Lokesh has raised the bar, but he was unable to fully meet it with Leo, and the result is only passably good.
Decision:
Overall, Thalapathy Vijay’s performance is a major factor in Leo’s success as an action entertainer. Despite its slow pacing, the first half of the movie is interesting; however, once the second half begins, the movie becomes problematic. The main negatives are the flashback scenes and the badly drawn characters. Fans of the franchise will treasure a few moments in which Leo appears in the LCU. The film Leo lacks some of Lokesh Kanagaraj’s magic, and Vijay’s popularity and the LCU factor will determine the film’s box office potential.
