Ayalaan - An admirable entertainer with cool moments and stunning visuals.
Tamil cinema and science fiction films have always been a success story. Director R Ravikumar was a path-breaking director in this genre who made a promising debut with 'Indru Netru Naalai'. Now, he is back with his second film 'Ayalaan' starring Sivakarthikeyan. After a lot of production and financial struggles, this alien flick landed on the big screens today. This movie is aimed to entertain the kids and families. Let's see if it lives up to the expectations.
'Ayalaan' is about an empathetic farmer who befriends an alien on a mission and their adventures. Thamizh (Sivakarthikeyan) leaves his village and comes to Chennai to make a livelihood. Tattoo (Alien) arrives at Earth from the planet in a faraway galaxy for a mission. The two cross paths in a cool situation leading to a scenario where Tattoo bonds with Thamizh and his friends. Meanwhile, industrialist Aaryan's (Sharad Kellar) ambitions with an extraterrestrial power source threaten the world. How Thamizh becomes a part of his mission and whether Tattoo completes his mission and returns to his home is what Ayalaan is all about.
Sivakarthikeyan along with the Alien carry this whole film as those were the characters which were properly written. SK excels in playing dual shades as a humble man and a daring hero. Sharad Kellar was a powerful villain but the character felt very one-dimensional. Yogi Babu, Rakul Preet, Karunakaran and Kothandam did their parts well. Siddharth rocked as the voice actor for the alien. Venkat Senguttuvan, the set actor for the alien, seems to have done a great job which is reflected in the little nuances of the character. Bhanupriya, Bala Saravanan, Isha Koppikar and others were just eye candy in this film.
The best thing about 'Ayalaan' is its visuals. They are super immersive and spectacularly made on a limited budget. The VFX and CGI team deserves all the credit for a stunning theatrical experience. Ravikumar has done it again with his creative and fun episodes. The setup and payoffs of the exciting elements worked well. Despite a beaten-to-death storyline, the film was decorated with cool ideas and episodes to keep us engaged but they could've worked even better if it had been released earlier.
The maker keeping things simple so that it can reach kids and families is fine but Ayalaan needs better character writing at least. What's at stake feels so trivial as the villain's intentions are unclear. The movie could have been shorter as the climax feels prolonged. Despite the flaws, things like Alien's powers, interval sequence and the 'ET' reference guarantee a fun watch. Ayalaan will deliver a good big-screen experience given its outstanding visuals and graphics.
Sadly, AR Rahman's songs were let down and the background scoring was decent. Nirav Shah's cinematography blended well with this VFX-rich film and Ruben's editing was fine. 'Ayalaan' is a fairly engaging entertainer with some brilliant sequences. It will surely satisfy its target audiences i.e. kids and family. The film will be an average watch for the others.
Verdict: Ayalaan is a worthy entertainer in this festive season which will give you a new and immersive experience.
