Coolie

Perhaps it was that heavy burden of expectations, or simply Lokesh's lofty ambitions, but Coolie does not simply fall short, but stumbles and staggers its way along that route. It is a confusing film, as much as it is confused, lifted largely by Rajinikanth's undimmed aura, Anirudh's masterful score, and some brilliantly shot fight sequences.

Coolie is barely a Lokesh Kanagaraj film, and one that is happy being a pale imitation of his earlier works. The film approaches Rajinikanth's star persona with an old-school reverence and at the same time with a slight tongue-in-cheek irreverence, but ultimately suffers from gaping holes in the writing and a convoluted array of sequences that strain to hold onto any semblance of linearity.