Valimai

Vinoth's idea of creating an urban legend goes awry when the film fails to distinguish Ajith's offscreen persona from Ajith's character in Valimai. There is so much action on the screen but very little happens in every scene. All these action sequences don't add up to anything bigger than the simple excitement of fans watching their favourite star pop a wheelie.

Watch this only for Ajith, because he won't disappoint even though the film might! Trying to fit in multiple genres, the film fails to establish a stronghold in any one of them.

The bikes defy gravity and the plot, logic. From cops who wait for signals to open during a high-stakes chase to an escort vehicle carrying important criminals that sets off without armed back-up or communication devices, Valimai underestimates its audience ever so often. The enervating soap operatics involving Arjun's family drive the runtime up to 178 minutes – unforgivably long and completely unearned.

The stunts are indeed valimai (powerful/strong) but the film becomes a kodumai (atrocity) with its wonky script and poor characterisation. If you go looking for the story, you'll only meet with potholes.

The screenplay is a drag, and the very sound of the speeding bikes makes the audience bored. Watching these bikes, Ajith and other bikers flying in the air, might be thrilling for his fans, but for the general audience, it is too exhausting. The second half is long and tiring with just bikes and bikers again.

If you evaluate the film beyond the action sequences, there's hardly anything that keeps you invested, despite an earnest performance from Ajith. In essence, it's a film where the action supersedes the largely predictable story. Valimai would've been a cracker of a film if it solely focused on providing action thrills.

Overall, the movie is only about Ajith and is a treat for every Ajith fan. Besides slow motion walks, and some scenic shots, there is nothing that the movie has to offer. Valimai translates to Strength and that's exactly what the script and direction lacks.

Valimai's stunt scenes are stunning and H Vinoth is truly a remarkable talent, but the film is bogged down by narrative hiccups with atrociously-written sentimental scenes and it is yet another Ajith Kumar-starrer where style supersedes substance. Valimai could have been that racy, out-and-out action film we have seen in a long time, but it feels like a missed opportunity.