Vikram (2022)

Vikram is the kind of big-screen action thriller that feels engineered to jolt a crowd to attention—slick, muscular, and surprisingly controlled in how it builds dread before it detonates into mayhem. Lokesh Kanagaraj stages the violence with a filmmaker’s precision, while Kamal Haasan brings a weathered gravitas that makes every stare and pause feel like part of the weaponry, matched beautifully by Fahadh Faasil’s sharp, restless intensity and Vijay Sethupathi’s delicious menace. The tone is dark and propulsive, with Anirudh Ravichander’s thundering score acting like a second heartbeat, pushing you through twists and escalating confrontations without needing to spoil a thing. It’s not for the squeamish—this world is soaked in brutality and narcotics-fueled rot—but if you want an action-crime film with real star power, crackling energy, and the confidence to go big, Vikram delivers.

Vikram is trying to be a slick, interconnected action-crime epic: a mystery that detonates into full-scale gang war, powered by star presence and big “universe” energy. When it’s focused, the film delivers punchy set pieces, a menacing villain streak, and enough swagger to keep action fans fed. But it also gets increasingly overstuffed, with uneven pacing and plotting that can feel generic or more interested in hero worship and setup than clean, emotionally grounded storytelling. If you want a tight investigative thriller with disciplined narration, this may test your patience; if you’re happy to trade coherence for loud, violent spectacle and franchise teases, it’ll likely land much better.