Cert 12A
175 mins
BBFC advice: Contains moderate violence and soft drug use.
I am really getting into a lather about dividing my time.
It is now Wednesday and I am only now writing up a review of Thalaivaa, the Tamil movie which I saw at Sheffield Cineworld on Sunday afternoon.
And that's a pity because AL Vijay's film is a really interesting if slightly erratic piece of work.
Its opening sequences, which proclaim great world leaders (with Lincoln's name spelt incorrectly) raise expectation of an epic movie akin to Gandhi.
Sure enough, scenes of an uprising in Mumbai in 1988 in which 'the king of the slums' is killed, bolster that concept.
But, for the next hour, the movie descends into a pretty tame rom com which has more in common with the X Factor than a serious picture.
In it, Tamil superstar Vijay (not to be confused with director) plays the leader of a dance group which is bidding for talent show glory in Australia.
The dance scenes are sharp and exciting and when the beautiful Amala Paul joins the group not only does their victory become assured but the lead characters fall in love.
But there is an elephant in the room - namely, that Vijay had originally been sent to Australia after the uprising because his dad was wanted for murder.
Since then, he has never been back to his homeland but now his prospective father-in-law insists they travel to Mumbai so he is convinced that his daughter would be marrying into a suitable family.
Thus, they fly out to India and at this point the film literally takes off and throws in a couple of giant twists.
Thereafter, the froth is blown away and Thalaivaa becomes the tough drama that it had promised in its opening.
Vijay is a terrific leading man and proves himself adept at handling a variety of different guises.
Meanwhile, Abhimanyu Singh is a potent villain and Sathyaraj is imposing as our hero's father.
I am not at all convinced that Thalaivaa's makers know what type of movie they were trying to make.
I am aware that some viewers preferred the light first section to the dark second. Personally, I saw it the opposite way around.
But there is no doubt that despite its good points, it is too bloated - an hour could have been cut and it would have been much better.
Laughs: three
Jumps: none
Vomit: yes
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 6.5/10