24 The Movie Review

Written & Direction : Vikram Kumar
Producer : Suriya
Cast : Suriya | Samantha Ruth Prabhu | Nithya Menen
Music : A. R. Rahman
Cinematography : Tirru
Editor : Prawin Pudi
Production company : 2D Entertainment
Distribution : Eros International | Studio Green
Running time : 164 minutes

“There should be just one and I must own it.” So much possessed over the extreme adherence to an ambitious desire that lands up things over the grounds of turmoil among few people and in turn taking them race against the time and period. When you’re done watching few minutes or perhaps the first half, one thing that instantly strikes your mind is the brilliant writing by Vikram Kumar, where it is so obvious that he has worked so hard on the script over and again for a better perfect version. In fact, as an audience you don’t feel the logical quotients missing out anywhere, though there could be some diminishing elements on the flip side, which remains overshadowed, but again rhetoric excellence proves to be the highlighting trait.

The plot traverses through the lives of three characters – Sethuraman, a scientist who invents a watch that instantly can commute you back and forth from past and future. His peaceful life with small family consisting of wife (Nithya Menen) and their baby is threatened with the arrival of antagonist Athreya (again played by Suriya), possessed with an incorrigible aggressiveness wants to grab it. His unfulfilled mission continues to the future time of 26 years later, where he has to now combat against Mani (One more Suriya), son of Sethuraman, who now owns the watch. How the tale unfolds with unexpected twists and turns with unbelievable surprises unlocked at every level forms rest of the tale.

As cited earlier, it’s Vikram Kumar’s writing that instantly gets your first attention in spite of Suriya pulling off the best efforts to offer a substantial performance. Yes, Suriya has already proved his proficiencies in a much colossal style during his erstwhile movies, exhibiting his prowess in unique roles with different looks, but this one is incredibly the best that he can boast about. It’s so much revealing how much effort he had to exert for ‘Athreya’, especially the aged one, inspired from Stephen Hawking look.

One of the best things about ‘24’ is that it takes us right into the precise point of what the film is all about by the very beginning. Audiences are exposed straight to the lane on which they would travelling for next 164 minutes. Following a substantial prologue, the first half slightly dips into the usual commercial paradigms, where some songs really look unwanted. But how could you keep away from the brand called AR Rahman. His background places its mammoth impact than the songs. Cinematography by Thiru turns to be an intriguing element, especially for some of the flashback portions using the Sepia tone and later playing with colours is something really spellbinding.

Portions involving Suriya and Samantha are cute and loveable, but could have been slightly limited. Nithya Menon has a very miniscule prominence, but has done what is required. Sathyan used for humour is just okay and Saranya Ponvannan takes sleepwalk through her usual kind of mother roles. The first half’s length could have been trimmed to make it more engrossing, but everything gets diminished by the twist that comes through the point of intermission. During the second hour, we are taken through some roller coaster elements, where audiences would feel as though they are involved in a video game play of puzzle solving. Vikram Kumar offers the package of surprises, which are some predictable, but few are really out of box thinking though.

Apart from AR Rahman’s background score and cinematography by Thiru, it’s Amit and Subrata Rao who deserve special mention for creating an outstanding set work. VFX team is the absolute backbone in this film, where they have exhibited an immense perfection.
Yes, there are few flaws in the script and bringing them to your notice could actually in the technical aspects and maybe few with the narrative style. But by the post-intermission sequences with some power packed performance of Suriya and engrossing screenplay, it offers a wholesome experience.