Vijay's Action Packed 'Leo' Delivers High-Octane Entertainment

If Hollywood has MCU, we have our LCU!! 

That's the Lokesh Cinematic Universe which started with Kaithi (2019) and went further gun blazing in Vikram (2022). Leo, the third instalment in the action thriller series, rests on a weak premise but still makes it to the watch-worthy grade thanks to some high octane action sequences and Anirudh's pulsating background score. 

Parthiban (Thalapathy Vijay with salt and pepper beard) lives a blissful family life with wifey (Trisha) and two kiddos until he is haunted by the ghosts from his past in form of Antony (Sanjay Dutt) and Harold (Arjun Sarja) Das, two gangsters who believe he is their long lost heir Leo. So is Parthi really Leo Das or not??!! 

The basic theme reminded me of Amitabh Bachchan's Hum (1991), which was cleverly adapted as Superstar Rajinikanth's Baashha (1995) and later horribly remade as Sunny Deol's Big Brother (2007). Having said that, Lokesh Kanagaraj packages the oft repeated plotline wonderfully with right quotient of thrills as well as emotions. The family scenes for instance, touch your heart here. And the café fight sequence in the first half is a howl!! 

Expectedly, Thalapathy Vijay carries the film entirely on his able shoulders and gets two formidable villains to fight in form of Sanju Baba and Arjun. Both are first rate. There are ample references of Kaithi and Vikram, which I won't disclose here for spoiler purpose. 

On the technical front, the action set pieces are excellent right from the first hyena fight till the blood soaked climax. Moreover, Anirudh's music elevates the film to an altogether different level. The film is close to three hours long (with interval) but doesn't seem so. On the flipside, the VFX in the car chase scene between Vijay and Sanju Baba looks shoddy. 

All in all, Leo works well even with its wafer thin plot. The LCU is burning bright, no doubt!! 

Ratings on some key aspects* : 

1. Acting : 4/5 

2. Direction : 4/5

3. Music : 4/5 

4. Story, Screenplay and Dialogue : 3/5

5. Cinematography : 3.5/5

6. Editing : 3.5/5 

7. Costume Design : 3/5

8. Special Effects and VFX : 2/5

9. Action : 4.5/5

10. Production Quality : 3.5/5 

#SNRating for #Leo : 3 & 1/2 stars out of 5. 

- Sumeet Nadkarni 

Liked the review? 

Click on the link below and like the #SNRatings page to subscribe to honest and unbiased reviews of all latest movies : https://m.facebook.com/SNRatings 

You can also follow us on Twitter handle : @sumu76in 

* - The overall film rating is not a simple average of all ratings on key aspects but a weighted average of the ratings where some crucial aspects (like direction, acting, story and screenplay etc) are assigned more weightage than others. 

#Leo #ActionThriller #HindiMovie #BollywoodFilm #ThalapathyVijay #Trisha #LCU #LokeshKanagaraj #SanjayDutt #ArjunSarja #BollywoodReview #Filmreview #TheatricalRelease #OTTRelease #Netflix #SNRatings 

#SNRatings barometer:

1 star = Poor

1 & 1/2 star = Below average/ Avoidable

2 stars = Average

2 & 1/2 stars = Above average/ Risk it

3 stars = Good enough/ Endurable

3 & 1/2 stars = Definitely worth a watch

4 stars = Very good

5 stars = Masterpiece/ Outstanding. 

2023 SNRatings. 

About Sumeet Nadkarni:

 Sumeet Nadkarni is a Chartered Accountant by profession and a self-styled film critic by passion. He reviews Bollywood movies and OTT releases on his popular personal blog #SNRatings. His film-related articles have appeared in leading publications in India. With a keen eye for cinematic detail and a knack for insightful critiques, Sumeet brings a unique perspective to the world of Indian cinema. Follow him for the latest Bollywood insights and unbiased film reviews. #FilmCritique #BollywoodReviewer