Lokesh Kanagaraj brings together the spy-filled world of Kamal Haasan's 1986 film Vikram and his own 2019 film Kaithi, the action-packed world of drug lords and cops in the action-packed Vikram is projected guess who is more interested in expanding his universe. without really wallowing in it. It holds the mysteries of a spy movie and provides some of the thrills of an action movie, but it doesn't feel completely satisfying and doesn't leave us with the euphoric feeling that one would expect. movies with such lofty ambitions promise. The film begins to gripping, when Karnan (Kamal Haasan), the father of police martyr Prapanchan (Kalidas Jayaram) is killed. We know that there has been a series of such murders with a group of masked men claiming responsibility  and calling it their war on the system. Sheriff Jose (Chemban Vinod Jose) brings in a  team of undercover operations led by Amar (Fahadh Faasil), who set out to learn Karnan's life. The prime suspect is Sandhanam (Vijay Sethupathi), a fearsome drug lord with a large family who is on the hunt for a shipment of ingredients that could make him a drug lord. Meanwhile, Amar is confused by the many versions of Karnan. Is he an alcoholic father grieving  the loss of his son, a promiscuous, or  more? More importantly, is he alive or dead? Vikram works best in its first half, when we see Amar and his team trying to figure out the murders and track down the killers. Although these installments feature very little  Kamal Haasan, we continue to feel his presence, both as a character and as an actor. There are nods to Kamal's lovers, from Nayakan to Anbe Sivam, and discovering them gives chills. The actor, who is here in action star mode, also gets a well-deserved moment, which leads to the interval. And Vijay Sethupathi seems to be leaving where he left the Master, playing a ruthless villain.  But once the predictable mystery surrounding Karnan is unraveled, the story becomes quite simple. A small group of policemen should fight an army of gangsters. It's similar to what we had at Kaithi, but here it's less efficient. To his credit, Lokesh tries to provide an emotional flow, with a side episode involving Karnan and Prapanchan's baby, but it's not impactful enough. And  arcs involving Amar and Sandhanam also become predictable. Fahadh's Amar is more or less wiped out while Vijay Sethupathi looks like he's trying too hard. Narain, as Bejoy, Kaithi's honest policeman, is also looked down upon. Even Suriya's much-hyped cameo, acting as the lead for the upcoming "Lokesh Kanagaraj Universe" episode, is a bit disappointing. The action scenes, though firmly choreographed, never left us  in a hurry. However, in a movie chock full of action heroes, the most popular moment comes in a stunt scene involving a female character (a maid/spy, played by Vasanthi). Vikram needs more of such moments to be truly memorable.