Vikram plays Madhya Zagan, a math teacher who also acts as a skilled assassin. 

His ingenuity and ability to apply mathematics to the real world, his chameleon-like ability to hide under new skin, allows him to pull off the most outlandish assassinations. One of his characters likens his behavior to that of a cobra.

 Cobra's can molt when needed and deliver a deadly blow when needed. Yes, we get the clichéd hero appeasement dialogue that elevates Maddie into some kind of Lex Luthor and Deadshot character. But the first act is pretty smooth sailing. Ajay adds interesting characters to the mix, including an Interpol officer named Athrun (Irfan Pathan) who leads the search for Maddy.

 A manic villain named Rajiv Rishi (Roshan Mathew) knows what else to do besides ordering these assassinations. Nellaiappan (KS Ravikumar), a character like Alfred Pennyworth in Maddie. Amazing characters who eventually level up. There is promise in the way Ajay builds his world.

But Cobra's template structure is such that it can be split into two distinct halves, with the second half taking the story into entirely new territory. You get to see more of what's on the protagonist's mind and how they relate to reality.

 His mental struggle makes him human, and Vikram takes this opportunity to showcase his acting skills. The film begins to try too many things, and with multiple open canons at work, it struggles to find a narrative anchor. Surprises around the corner become too predictable, and some sequences are a little too boring to even get through.

In hindsight, the film seems to have fallen victim to the constraints of the genre, ticking all the boxes that make action movies quintessential. and spraying bullets at lunch and bingeing on alcohol and women at dinner.

 The movie doesn't dig deep and we don't know why he does what he does. Even Irfan's Aslan, who is often used as a storytelling tool, ends up having more moments than Roshan's Rishi. Similarly, criminology professor Srinidhi Shetty's Bhavana Menon ends with Madhi with a romantic subplot only as filler.

 Thankfully, the same cannot be said for her two other female leads, Meenakshi Govindarajan and her Mrinalini Ravi. Mrinalini plays someone related to Maddy's past, while Meenakshi plays Julie, a criminology student who works with Interpol. Both characters play important roles when it comes to moving the plot forward.

Cobra ends up being another mediocre movie that is neither a compelling action movie nor an emotional drama. What's more disappointing than watching a film that doesn't deliver on its promises is seeing a film that squanders its own potential.The idea is there, and the visible effort to turn it into a unique and compelling watch. There is and you see it all go wrong.In one particular sequence, set in a police station, Vikram gave a brilliant performance and got a lot of cheers from the audience. Looking back, it's a shame that yet another movie turned into a mean outing for actors to go all out.

Details:

Release date: 31 August 2022 (India)

Director: R. Ajay Gnanamuthu

Budget: 100 crores INR

Distributed by: Red Giant Movies

Editor: Bhuvan Srinivasan

Language: Tamil