Two Point... uh-oh!

There are enough spoilers in the trailer, so the ones in this article won't spoil your experience. Nevertheless, you don't want to miss the visual treat on the big screen.

There are good films, bad films and films to be revered.

2.0 falls under the third category. It goes beyond the boundaries of criticism, in Indian context. However, is it right to expect Indians to enjoy something they aren't accustomed to? While leaving the hall I was thinking of Shankar and laughing because he's made a film of such magnitude in a country like India. Magnitude—in terms of budget and theme.

Time And Timeline

2.0 felt like a time travel to the future, because 2018 was for sequels like Saamy2 and Sandakozhi 2. With every film of his, Shankar is pushing the boundaries of Indian cinema farther, but his contemporaries are least bothered to catch up. Getting into the film, the timeline of the franchise is not clear. Enthiran ended in 2030 (with the museum scene), whereas in 2.0 the period is intentionally left undisclosed. Going by the timeline, 2.0 should have been set in or after 2030, because until then Chitti is in dismantled state. 2.0 however doesn't stick to the timeline as Vaseegaran looks the same he was in 2010 and hasn't married Sana yet.

Science Fiction Vs. Science Lecture

Remember that only jargon from Enthiran? It was 'neural schema'. Enthiran's writing was light on science and heavy on human interest which made it easy to comprehend. However, 2.0 is one half science lecture and the other half a VFX show-reel, which are signs of poor writing. If Akshay Kumar lectures on birds and radiation, Rajinikanth lectures on the 'fifth force' and converses with Amy Jackson in pure science. Movies with a good many VFX shots such as 2.0 are usually branded by Indians as "movies for children." People like me who enjoyed the film would still assume that fellow Indians wouldn't like it. Good if they did.

Story, Screenplay and Dialogues

It's ok if the story is predictable but the screenplay should never be. Unfortunately, 2.0's screenplay is easily predictable, thanks to the trailer spoilers. The suspense quotient is missing throughout the film. The first half is nothing but a series of murders that are supposed to kindle curiosity as in Anniyan, but they don't. The backstory in the second half is not strong enough to move the audience, or at least me. Chitti is not as fun as in Enthiran—the mannerisms, dialogues and scenes from Enthiran are repeated in an attempt to recreate the 2010 magic and help the audience connect, which is unnecessary because people had already watched Enthiran a million times on Sun TV. The dialogues can't get any worse. I can't avoid the cliche—if only Sujatha had been alive.

Visuals and Effects

The film doesn't stick to the visual tone set by Enthiran. The look and feel has changed for the good. The film relies heavily on VFX both in the first and second halves, that's supposed to bring the audience to the seat's edge, but doesn't. Long and repetitive VFX sequences made me feel awesome and bored at the same time. A.R. Rahman with his background score tries to make them gripping but couldn't help much. Although, what Shankar couldn't achieve with Enthiran in terms of VFX, has done to his full satisfaction in 2.0.

Rajinikanth

Despite his age, Rajinikanth has pulled off 3 distinct roles. It was the same guy who starred in Mullum Malarum, Netrikkan, Baasha, Chandramukhi and 2.0—spanning 5 decades. You think he's become a grandpa but in 2.0 he plays Vaseegaran's 'grandson'—with the same vigour he's always had. Vaseegaran was underplayed in Enthiran, but in 2.0 the character grows stronger.

Akshay Kumar

Now, here's the real problem. Akshay Kumar plays Pakshi Rajan who's character is of Anniyan's nature but not as strong as the latter. Pakshi's concern for nature paints a good picture of him in the minds of audience. The audience can't hate him. They don't want Pakshi Rajan to be killed, but he is. When he wants to kill Pakshi, Chitti looks like the real life Rajinikanth who said,

chumma porattam porattam na Thamizh Naadu sudugaadu aaidum

Experience

2.0 is mind blowing. Despite the weak story-line, dragged out screenplay and bland dialogues there is a fifth force that sustains the film—3D & VFX—that has been well conceptualised and created on par with international standards. You don't have to compare it with Hollywood because the Chinese and Japanese don't. This is the story of a monster that resides in the suburban village of Thirukazhukundram. You'll leave the theatre with a smile because the experience is worth well over the ticket price. You don't take any message home though, because the film was produced by Lycamobile.