Holstra Boring, long, and too preachy.

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

pointyfilippa The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Subash Raj The last Mani Ratnam film which I happened to see was "Kannathil Muthamittal" aka "A Peck on the Cheek" and I just loved that film in its entirety.This film, however, had flashes of brilliance, promised a lot but falls flat on its face and dies down. You might still like the movie if you keep your analytical mind outside, but do we expect something like that from a Mani Ratnam's film ? The first half was still OK but the second half just dies down completely. After watching this film completely, I still feel the story line was extremely powerful and it could have been made into a pure cult classic but somewhere down the line in order to knit the plot together strongly, they just used poor threads.A lot of unanswered questions and really unbelievable loops in the story.Beatrice is hospitalized in the very first scene. She runs away and says she doesn't want to get treated. Later, we realize that she has some kind of mental trauma. Oh well OK. That explains. Well really ? A girl getting drips into her body and trying to get herself treated after so many years after the actual occurrence of trauma which affected the brain....Why exactly is Bergman so angry against Sam ? Because he got him kicked out (that too wasn't apparent. It seemed more like Bergman going out on his own wish) from the institution ? And for that he wants to take his life ? Give me a break ..There was a moment in the film where it was all serious drama and immediately the drama part ends and we see Thomas in a boat and Beatrice is around and their own little story begins. How many times have you seen in Indian films, a song which spoils the pace of the movie. Well, here it was a plot within the story which made it fall apart.One scene where Thomas is confessing his murderous sins to Beatrice, Gautham's acting was pretty good. But then Beatrice does something unexpected. She acts cool as if nothing has happened and everything can be written off. Later, we get to know that Beatrice has a mental problem etc, but still the explanation wasn't very convincing.The character of Thomas is so strong but somewhere the character never grows. He is to become a very scared figure and the viewers are just supposed to agree to that by watching a few minutes of him shooting and killing a few guys. Doesn't convince me.The bonding between Thomas and Sam is shown brilliantly. All that is built along during the first half of course. And then the bonding between Bergman and Thomas is also strong but we are just to assume that by watching a few scenes. I just wondered how beautifully different was 'Nayagan' as a gangster movie.During the climax scene, Bergman is talking to his aide and we can see completely dark skies. Moments later, we see the gray clouds. Now, should I assume that the event is taking place at dawn ? Well, the movie isn't without positives of course.The acting is wonderful. Arjun was Brutal, Arvind Swamy was splendid and even some other characters were wonderfully played. Somewhere, the lead heroine's acting wasn't quite up to the mark but I've seen worse.A few scenes were brilliant even though they did little to add up to the story line.You'll still like the movie if you like to keep your brains out while watching a film, but you won't expect something like that from Mani Ratnam now..Would you ?

sagkavin Its a profound catholic message about Reconciliation, Baptism and Resurrection. The true meaning of sacraments. The director must be deeply understood and touched by the Christian message. All men are called to be saints. Even in the most evil men goodness is present. All they have to do is to explore and find it.The music is great with A.R. Rahman. Nice lyrics by Viramuthu. Tamil cinema will acknowledge this movie as one of the best ever after ten years, its an usual response time taken by audience to understand what Manirathnam has done.I am proud about Manirathnam for this movie, for both direction and the message. GOD bless, he is also a carrier of Gospel.

karthickk3 I'm not sure why people and critics are talking wrong and making fun of this movie. This is such a brilliant movie.This is a kind of movie which is true and you have to keep your analytical brain closed and look for what is been shown. You'll love it. Brilliantly taken! Everyone has done a wonderful job, be it a veteran Arvind Samy, Arjun or new comers Gautam and Thulasi. Awesome job, guys!Music was a big big plus! But that's the least you can expect when Mani Ratnam and Rahman joins, isn't? :DMy humble suggestion is just go and enjoy this movie. I like commercial movies too, but you must know to find the beauty of this type of films as these movies will increase the height of tamil movies.

amar-nathanson Forgiveness or Revenge: When faced with the criminal destroying everything you stand for, which path would you choose? What leads to spiritual enlightenment, following a preacher formally educated in a religious discipline, or a peek into a heart filled with childlike innocence. Can a human truly be classified as being God or Devil, or are both entities inside each of us, and only the circumstances dictate who manifests outside? With a biblically inspired tale set in the backdrop of the lives of Christian fishermen in Southern Tamil Nadu, these are some of the questions director Mani Ratnam seems to be asking.While the ideas of sin, redemption, revenge, forgiveness in cinema have been around since the beginning of cinema itself, the choice of the sea as a backdrop allows the director to use the various moods of Mother Nature to elevate the emotions in the depicted events, and credit, in this regard, is due to the cinematographer, Rajiv Menon. For a movie with seemingly lofty intentions, the actors do not disappoint. Arvind Swamy as the pragmatic priest who uses carrots and sticks to straighten a boy with an adverse past, Gautham as the enigmatic young hero in constant struggle to grapple with his place in the society around him, Thulasi the young convent girl who refuses to grow up, and Arjun, the man who made a deal with the Devil, and would stop at nothing to get ahead, all of them play their characters convincingly. The disappointments in the movie are the under utilization of some songs in the excellent soundtrack, and the final showdown which, although shot splendidly, could have packed a stronger emotional punch, either through better dialogue or by tweaking the storyline. Part of this could have also been an outcome of editing, and one hopes that an uncut version of the movie releases on DVD at some point that better explains these problems.Following Thalapathy and Raavan, this is the director's third venture to be inspired by a religious epic. While the other two movies were more direct retelling of the Mahabharata and Ramayana, Kadal is not quite a reinterpretation of an epic, but characters and events were certainly inspired by the stories from the Christian faith (the betrayal, crucifixion, resurrection). Is it mere coincidence that the hero, born as a child to a woman named Mary, and constantly referred to as God's son in the movie, sported longish hair, mustache and beard on his thin visage almost reminding us of the Biblical son of God. Of course, if indeed the purpose was make a movie inspired by the story of Christ, then unlike Raavan and Thalapathy, why is religion an explicit element in this movie. Perhaps, since the question posed is that of choosing a path for life, a religious backdrop is inevitable. In a tale about forgiveness, Christianity may have provided the ideal landscape.Director Mani Ratnam, it appears, has indeed traveled a far distance from his evergreen hits such as Mouna Ragam, Roja, Anjali, where the movie takes you through an emotional journey without necessarily asking you to stop and think about what you just saw. Movies such as Raavan and Kadal have through their sub-textual intent made us question our premises about their stories and possibly, our own.