Master, starring Tamil superstars Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi in the lead roles released amid sky-high expectations and buzz today. Lokesh Kanagaraj who previously directed Khaidi is at the helm for Master and that further catapulted the anticipation. The film’s release was postponed due to Covid-19 pandemic and finally made it to the theatres this Sankranti. Scroll on to read our review of Master.
Story: JD(Vijay) is a college professor who is addicted to alcohol and is always intoxicated. But his antics and mannerisms are loved by everyone in his college and Chaaru(Malavika Mohanan) falls for him as she likes his attitude. However, things take a steep turn and JD is transferred to a juvenile school. Soon after, JD comes to know that a local gangster Bhavani(Vijay Sethupathi) is using school-going students for his criminal activities. This sparks a rivalry between JD and Bhavani as the former intends to put an end to the latter’s atrocities. Will he be able to do so and save the kids in the process? If yes, how does he confront Bhavani? The answers to these questions form the remaining plot of Master.
What about on-screen performances?
Needless to say, Vijay-Vijay Sethupathi combination is the cornerstone of Master and both these actors have lived up to the high expectations. Vijay as a drunken professor delivers an impressive performance. His trademark mannerisms, portrayal of the character, and screen presence in mass action sequences are some of the main highlights of the film. Makkal Selvam Vijay Sethupathi is a class act and he does exceedingly well in this film. The way he portrays a crooked gangster character is as good as it gets. He carries that wicked look on his face all through the film. It needs to be said that Vijay Sethupathi has outperformed Vijay in Master. Malavika Mohanan plays a brief role but she emotes well in romantic scenes and leaves an impact. Andrea Jeremiah’s character is underused. Arjun Das and Shanthanu are good in their roles.
What about off-screen talents?
The film’s tempo keeps going up and down every now and again, but Anirudh Ravichander tries to evoke interest in the proceedings whenever the narrative falls flat. The first half is watchable, despite a few glitches but the second half is mostly a borefest. However, Anirudh Ravichander’s excellent background score infuses life into quite a few scenes in both the halves. Sathyan Sooryan’s cinematography is of top notch quality. He carries the theme of the film with his color palette and visual presentation. He and Anirudh Ravichander deserve special appreciation. Master has a run-time of 3 hours and the editor Philomas Raju could have easily chopped off 40 minutes footage to make the film more engaging..
Lokesh Kanagaraj showed a lot of promise with Khaidi but he fails to match the expectations with Master. Somewhere down the line, he loses the balance between his style of filmmaking and Vijay’s commercial image. He usually picks simple plots and narrates them in an engaging manner, but struggles to recreate his magic with Master. His trademark presentation goes missing in this film. The first half is partly engaging but the screenplay becomes way too boring and predictable in the second half. The lengthy run-time does not help the cause either.
What’s Hot?
- Vijay’s performance
- Vijay Sethupathi’s excellent portrayal of a crooked gangster
- Anirudh Ravichander’s background music
- First half and interval block
- Satyan Sooryan’s visuals
What’s Not?
- Predictable story
- Lacklustre screenplay
- Slow narrative
- Poor second half
- Unnecessarily lengthy run-time
- Mediocre editing
Verdict:
Master which marks the collaboration of Vijay, Vijay Sethupathi, and Lokesh Kanagaraj hit the screens amid great buzz and anticipation, but it fails to match the the pre-release hype. A few portions of the film are engaging, but as a whole, it fails to keep the viewers entertained. The 3-hour long run-time is a big drawback. That said, those who expected mass scenes between Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi will be satisfied to an extent. The film does have a few bright moments but the predictable screenplay and story undo the good work.
Watch or not: Strictly for the die-hard fans of Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi.
TeluguBulletin.com Rating: 2.25/5
Click Here for Live Updates
After much delay, Thalapathy Vijay’s much-awaited Film Master is finally hitting the silver screens today.
Originally, the movie was scheduled to release in April 2020, but the lockdown due to Covid-19 delayed the film’s release. Even though there were tempting offers from leading OTT platforms, the producers were keen on theatrical release only..
Directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, the film, also stars Vijay Sethupathi, Malavika Mohanan, Arjun Das, Andrea Jeremiah and Shanthanu Bhagyaraj. Master is produced by XB Film Creators and Seven Screen Studios.
Here are the Live Updates of much-awaited Vijay’s Master Movie
Final Report: Movie is a typical mass flick that has few high points, audience will be disappointed if they expect the treatment that Lokesh Kanakaraj had in his previous movies. Vijay’s fans will have few fan moments here and there, Vijay Sethupathi gave a terrific performance in Bhavani role.
09.50 A.M: Movie ended with a climax fight, and message-oriented dialogues.. please watch this space for a detailed review
09:35 A.M: Vijay attacking lorries with arrows..Chase and fight not so good..
09:30 A.M: Sethupathi gang took all the boys in a lorry while Vijay is chasing them…Movie tempo is still down..
09:20 A.M: Movie going on a message mode now.. Sethupathi gang kills Vijay’s friends and give warning..Master giving message oriented speech to the boys.
09:10 A.M: Movie’s tempo is down with Vijay sethupathi and gang on a fighting spree. Song time now on sethupathi and gang.
08:55 A.M: Andam vadi choope song going on now..movie slowed down a bit.
08:45 A.M: Vijay enters school to change students, time for Master raid song. Song is decent. Kabaddi fight with gang boys is superb.
08:30 A.M: First Half Report: The first half of the movie is good which gets pretty intense just before interval. The tempo of the movie goes to peak with interval bang. We have to wait and see how this tempo will be carried in the second half of the movie. Vijay’s performance is top notch, Sethupathi’s action in this negative role will enthrall audience. Anirudh’s background score is superb.
08:20 A.M: Vijay realizes that Sethupathi is the culprit and tries to save the two kids. Sethupathi arranges goons to kill Vijay, fight scenes in jail are pretty intense.
08:10 A.M: Average emotional scenes are now on as Sethupathi kills 2 kids. He want the kids to surrender but they try to tell the truth to Vijay (Vijay does not lift the kids calls as he is too drunk)
07:57 A.M: Time for Chitti story song with juvenile boys, average watch.
07:47 A.M: Vijay resigns after a fight broke in college elections and joins an observation home which is full of Sethupathi’s gang. Sethupathi supplies alcohol and food to these boys after he got out of jail. Overall movie is good so far with few slow scenes.
07:40 A.M: Vijay’s made up stories on how he became an alcohol addict will bring some laughter.
07:30 A.M: Sethupathi is contesting for lorry association president. Vijay supports college elections, he agrees to supervise elections and says that he will resign if any bad incident happens.
07:20 A.M: Master coming song now, Vijay is a professor who indulges in alcohol. Malavika Mohanan works in the same college. Vijays Mass Drunk steps will surely enthrall fans.
07:15 A.M: Vijay’s introduction is simple yet impactful, he chases two students who are trying to escape after they harass two girl students. Anirudh’s backgrounds score is worth mentioning. Audience will enjoy chase and fight scene with Vijay’s swag.
06.50 A.M: Master showtime started with a story of Vijay Sethupati As Bhavani, what made him the guy he is. Vijay Sethupati action is terrific. Revenge scenes came out really well.