You most likely have no idea what to expect from the new Tamil-language Indian police drama "Vettaiyan" (also known as "Hunter"), which stars septuagenarian "Super Star" Rajinikanth, or why it's worth seeing the entire 166-minute thriller. How were you able to? Combining Rajni with Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan isn't a novel idea (this is their fourth collaboration), and it might not be compelling enough to hold your attention. "Vettaiyan" continues to plod along for two traditional, but largely satisfying, hours until coming to an unavoidable post-intermission twist. At this time, the film's focus changes from police to private school reform, following an inquiry into the brutal murder of a saintly public school teacher.The picture then returns to being dull and dumb after a dizzying adrenaline rush, the type of retrograde programming that is mostly enjoyable because of its younger directors' dedication to being soul-deeply cheesy.

Rajinikanth portrays the virtuous Superintendent Athiyan in "Vettaiyan," a renowned "encounter specialist" (or field agent) who, in the opinion of his techie sidekick Cyber "Battery" Patrick (Fahadh Faasil), possesses the qualities of a great cop: Athiyan is brave, talented, and honest. As he sometimes reminds us with his catchphrase, "When the hunt is on...the prey must fall," Rajinikanth murders without consequence and doesn't stop until he gets his man. Athiyan is a murderer, but he doesn't think of himself as such until he is compelled to into the inner circle of Sathyadev (Bachchan), an experienced Indian High Court judge and skeptic about human rights.As with most things in "Vettaiyan," whose plot doesn't really develop but rather solidifies, it takes a while to bring these two people together.

Athiyan must force himself into a high-profile inquiry despite his established reputation (in the world of the film), which begins with the death of Miss Saranya (Dushara Vijayan), a renowned public school teacher, and later involves private school tycoon Natraj (Rana Daggubati). Sathyadev's opening remarks, which imply that social injustice still exists in contemporary India due to systematic discrimination against members of lower castes, help viewers get a feel of what's to come.However, the film moves slowly from one plot point to the next. As Athiyan and his sly coworker Harish Kumar (Kishore) pursue their main suspect, a notorious pervert from a Tamil Nadu slum, we watch them for a time. After much self-congratulatory vacillating on whether or not Athiyan's actions are always justifiable, the film changes direction. It turns out that he is always right, even when he is erroneous. In such instance, he is only wrong for having trusted less experienced police officers.