Action movie review: Vishal, Tamannaah starrer is a lousy espionage thriller

Action
Director: Sundar C
Cast: Vishal, Tamannaah Bhatia, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Akanksha Puri, Kabir Duhan Singh and Ramki

Filmmaker Sundar C, who is known for his brand of mindless entertainers, aims for the moon as he tries to whip up a high-octane espionage thriller in Action but he fails so miserably in the process that you feel sorry for him. Instead of focusing on delivering a half decent product, Sundar takes the commercial route and makes the viewing experience unimaginably boring.

The film opens in Istanbul and we see Tamannaah walking through a market. In the news headlines, both Vishal and Tamannaah are on the most wanted list. Cut to next shot, a group of localities are chasing Tamannaah and Vishal comes to her rescue minutes later. A chase ensues and this is followed by a flashback. Back in Chennai, Vishal, who plays a colonel in Indian Army, is introduced as the son of the state’s chief minister. Preparations are underway to host a big meeting that will be presided over by a central minister. Despite heavy security, the minister is killed in a bomb blast and Vishal’s uncle, played by Ramki, is held responsible for the attack and he becomes the prime suspect in the case. It takes some investigation by Vishal to track the person responsible for the bomb blast and it leads him to London. The rest of the story follows Vishal on a mission to find the most-dreaded terrorist behind the attack.

On paper, the plot of Action sounds exciting and has all the elements to work as an exhilarating espionage thriller. But it lacks the fizz when it comes to execution and eventually ends up as tiring watch. Even the action stretches don’t quite leave us in awe as they’re reduced to nothing but shoddily executed scenes against green mats that are aided by cheap visual effects. Except for a couple of chases, most of the action scenes fall flat despite Vishal’s earnest efforts to make the action look slick. Unlike Vishal, Tamannaah struggles to makes an impact in the action scenes and she can barely in a crucial chase sequence.

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Akanksha Puri plays a no-nonsense assassin and her character initially comes across as exciting. In her introduction scene, she’s seen shoving her foot on a woman’s throat with no absolutely no sense of remorse. But the character needed to be written strongly to make her look menacing throughout. After the introduction scene, she’s reduced to making the proceedings look glamorous. She gets a song where she seduces a man and successfully kills him but trust me this is no Basic Instinct.

Watch the trailer of Action here:

Action needed to be an out-and-out action flick but by taking the commercial route, it barely stays afloat with needless sub-plots and romantic detour. It’s lavishly shot and cinematographer Dudely’s frames makes the visuals look grand. But nothing else really saves the film from turning out to be a mega bore.

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