Goli Soda 2 review: What critics say about Vijay Milton's film?

The story of Vijay Milton's Goli Soda 2 is not the continuation of the first part, but a movie with a similar concept – the main characters struggling to reclaim their identities. The situation and issues are closer to reality and the director here narrates the tale with oodles of commercial elements.

Story:

Maran (Bharath Seeni) works for gangster Thuraimugam Thilai (Chemban Vinodh Jose) in North Chennai. He is in love with Inba (Subiksha) and wants to bid goodbye to the underworld. Shiva (Vinod) is an honest auto driver who wants to buy a car. Oli (Esaki Bharath) is a basketball player and in love with an upper caste girl Madhi (Krisha Kurup).

The three individuals have different aspirations and their common link is pharmacist Natesan (Samuthirakani). Maran's struggle to escape from the clutches of his gangster boss, the problems that Oli faces over his inter-caste relationship and how a powerful loan shark creates troubles when Shiva tries to buy a car is the crux of the story. Their courage to fight when pushed to the edge is narrated in 130-minute run time of Goli Soda 2.

The first half is brilliantly told with clearly written back-stories of the protagonists. The pace of the screenplay never drops and people are reminded of director Hari's films.

"This is what makes the first half of Goli Soda 2 a riveting watch. We get a couple of romantic tracks that manage to feel fresh despite the slightly raw performances. We get whistle-worthy dialogues. Like the scene in the bank, which is filled with sharp lines that take a dig at how the system is not favourable to the underprivileged, and is solely interested in maintaining the status quo," the reviewer from The Times of India writers while describing the first half.

However, the second half is let down due to unrealistic action sequences and the entry of too many characters play the spoilsport. "A couple of new characters are abruptly thrown into the mix, making the already-crowded screen confusing. The dialogues suddenly get too aggressive, too loud. This is director Vijay Milton suddenly taking the vigilante route and once that happens, Goli Soda 2 never gets back on track," The writer from The Hindu says.

The stunts sequences and the way the three fight back against the odds, compared with the first instalment, are not novel and in the end, Vijay Milton has made it look like a usual commercial entertainer.

Coming to the performances, the role is tailor-made for Samuthirakani, while the three youngsters come up with decent performance. Deepak's editing is top notch, while Vijay Milton's cinematography and Achu Rajamani's songs get special mentions.

Overall, Goli Soda 2 turns out to be a decent entertainer despite its flaws. "It is unfair to compare Goli Soda-2 with the first part. On the whole, this is an engaging mass entertainer because the director has once again retained the emotional essence which worked big time in the first part," the critic from Sify points out.