Rudhran is a good vengeance action film with some fine stunt work and tough themes that would have worked if it had been released a few decades earlier. It's actually unbelievable that we have a movie that does what hundreds of movies have done for aeons now in today's Tamil cinema, where getting even for the death of every relative out there has been done and dusted, and at a time when John Wick is killing a town's worth of people avenging the murder of his dog. It is true that the cause of the deaths that our hero must avenge is original, but the question of whether that little innovation merits a movie is one that the movie attempts to answer positively but falls short of.

There are innumerable movies that Rudhran will make you think about. One of Rudhran's opening moments is an action scene in which Raghava Lawrence's portrayal of the title character decimates a group of thugs who, like they always do, are pursuing a woman, taking a cue from Rajinikanth's two most recent flops, Darbar and Annaatthe. The main goon is sent flying in a split second, and a figure can be seen emerging from the shadows a few hundred metres away by the time the henchman have batted their eyes open once. Before you can even begin to guess the type of punchline that is going to be the response, a goon yells, "Yaaru da avan!" another responds, "Rudhran da!"The movie's flatness is arguably its only constant element, and you can tell a lousy movie when you start worrying about how a lot of evil guys are portrayed.

Runtime: 149 minutes

Director: Kathiresan

Cast: Poornima Bhagyaraj, Sarathkumar, Priya Bhavani Shankar, and Nassar

However, who is Rudhran? Why is he picking on Bhoomi's (Sarathkumar) men? Why is he fleeing? Why would he nearly kill a man who only arrives at the house to deliver water cans? The "Jorthaale" dance sequence appears in the movie while we anxiously await the answers. The solutions do appear in the second half of the movie, at around the time the movie makes you feel like you've been in a duel with Rudhran. The first half of the film follows a non-linear plot and simultaneously bombards us with flashes of needless sentiment in the form of flashback scenes and physics-defying action from the present. Rudhran is shown to be the adorable child of a contented couple (played by Poornima Bhagyaraj and Nassar), and the two of them together.

Presently appearing in theatres is Rudhran.