Watch Kochadaiiyaan for the vivid motion capture technology and Rajini’s tandav in the second half. But be warned, an overkill of patriotism, courage and friendship may leave you bored.

Despite the lack of technical finesse, the filmmaker deserves to be applauded for taking a step towards innovation and change, and setting the ground work for ‘Rana’.

A disaster of a film with terrible animation…

There is very little balance achieved in the telling and for people unfamiliar with the culture and rituals of the bygone era, everything on view may appear far-out and fanciful. In terms of technology being used, this is a first, no doubt, but it doesn’t come out as exciting or completely entertaining.

…does not have much for the Hindi film-going audience and will, therefore, not fare well at the box-office. However, its Tamil version has the potential to prove a big hit because of the demi-God status enjoyed by Rajinikanth among the Tamil-speaking audience and also due to the novelty factor.

Part of the problem is surely the generic revenge-oriented plot, which plays out between two warring kingdoms. This may still have worked in live action, but in this animated form (and with hardly any expressions on the characters’ faces), the excitement is muted. Scenes that should have been shaped with the peaks and valleys of high drama end up flat as a plain.