Beast Story :-
In his previous ventures like Kolamaavu Kokila and Doctor, director Nelson excelled at extracting humor from situations that might not seem comical at first glance. However, in Beast, he ventures into a serious territory—a hostage crisis—and attempts to infuse it with humor. Unfortunately, his efforts fall short, leaving the audience craving laughs where they should be abundant and finding unintended humor in the film’s attempts at mass-hero moments.
Movie Ratings
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The film kicks off promisingly with a prologue featuring Veera Raghavan (portrayed by Vijay), a seasoned RAW officer grappling with psychological scars from a mission to apprehend a notorious terrorist mastermind (played by Liliput Faruqui). Veera, accompanied by his girlfriend Preethi (essentially serving as eye candy, portrayed by Pooja Hegde), finds himself trapped in a mall seized by terrorists. Government negotiator Althaf Hussain (played by the wry Selvaraghavan in his acting debut) persuades Veera to undertake the rescue mission, but can he triumph?
The primary issue with Beast lies in its protagonist, who appears overly formidable for a mission that lacks substantial challenges. The terrorists come across as unthreatening, failing to evoke fear even when attempting to intimidate the hostages. Consequently, the mission hardly poses a significant hurdle for the fearless Veera. The antagonist, including the leader Saif (played by Ankur Ajit Vikal), lacks depth, further weakening the film’s conflict.
Similar to Doctor, Nelson assembles an array of eccentric characters to aid the protagonist, but they receive inadequate screen time and lack compelling motivations. While VTV Ganesh manages to elicit a few laughs, the humor surrounding characters like Yogi Babu and Redin Kingsley becomes repetitive. Even the gangster duo Mahali and Kili, who shined in Nelson’s previous film, fail to leave a mark this time.
Unlike Doctor, where characters collaborated seamlessly during fight sequences, Beast primarily relies on Vijay to carry out all actions, relegating other characters to mere spectators. Female characters are particularly sidelined, with screen time dominated by irritating personas like an elderly hostage (Subbalakshmi) and a union minister (Shaji) with a personal agenda.
Despite Anirudh’s efforts to elevate scenes with his score, the film’s lackluster writing hampers its impact. Nelson leans heavily on Vijay’s star power to salvage the film, but even the actor’s charisma can only compensate so much for a deficient script.
In conclusion, Beast falls short of its potential, failing to strike a balance between humor and the seriousness of its premise. While Vijay delivers a commendable performance, the film’s weak script and underdeveloped characters prevent it from making a lasting impression.
