'I' ('Ai') Movie Review Round-up: Vikram's Outstanding Performance Makes it Worth Watching

Vikram-Shankar's "I" has finally hit screens as a Pongal treat for fans and the film has received positive reviews from critics.

The Shankar directorial is a romantic thriller with Amy Jackson, Upen Patel and Suresh Gopi appearing in pivotal roles. Shankar has teamed up with Vikram for the second time after "Anniyan" and expectations from the film are huge. Whether it will impress the audience and fare well at the box office is something one needs to wait and watch.

Plot: The film opens with a disfigured man (Vikram) kidnapping a model named Diya (Amy Jackson) at the time of her marriage. Then the film moves to flashback showing Vikram as Lingesan, a body builder, who aspires to become Mr India. He gets lured into the world of advertisement, turns into a model and falls in love with Diya. What happens next forms the crux of the story.

"I" moves between the present and flashback showing the koonan's operations and the Lingesan's part.

What the critics say?

Critics have unanimously given fantastic feedback on Vikram's performance as a koonan, body builder and a model. His dedication to portray different looks has received rave reviews from them. The actor's outstanding performance is the major highlight of the film.

Surendhar MK of OnlyKollywood states, "I is an emotionally engaging, expertly directed, dazzlingly shot and technically staggering tale spearheaded by Vikram's dumb-founding, superlative, career-best performance. I will be remembered as a film where Vikram proved his mettle as a stupefying method actor on par with Kamal Haasan in Indian cinema."

"Two words "Simply Awesome"! To start, "I" is not the movie that brings a character just for the sake of it, however integrates into the plot. All the hardwork Vikram has put into has a fitting justification, something that doesn't serve just the actor's hunger but what the fan's stomach wants as well," according to Indiaglitz.

Amy Jackson looks apt for the role of a model, while Santhanam evokes laughter with his one liners, stated the critics.

The songs and its picturisation, visual grandeur, cinematography and stunt sequences are also some of the major attractions of the film.

On the technical aspects of the film, AP Today stated, "AR Rahman's songs were pretty decent but what makes the difference is picturization in visually spectacular locations. Background score is highly promising. PC Sreeram is a genius to say the least and the credit for making 'I' a visual feast goes to him. Dialogues were good."

"Stunts have been choreographed very well. Editing is poor and at least 15-20 minutes in second half could have been chopped off. Visual effects were topnotch. Production values are mind blowing," according to the website.

On the flip side, the film has a wafer thin storyline and is predictable after a certain point. Although the songs are picturised well, they hinder the pace of the narration, the critics stated.

"The problem with I is that the story becomes predictable beyond a point. The villains are weak, the love portion in China extends more than what it should have and though songs are brilliant stand alone, they do have an impact on the pace of the narration, reported Behindwoods Review Board.

Box Office Prospects: "I" has released in huge number of screens and the film is all set to take grand openings considering the pre-release buzz. The long Pongal/Sankranti holidays is likely to ensure the film get a good opening weekend. However, its overall performance will depend on word of mouth. If it manages to fetch good reviews from the audience, it is likely to fare well in the long run.