muvi-fan-73
Tone, Script & Story: The story is about a local man who wins Mr. Tamil Nadu climbs the ladder, gets into modeling; get to have his long time crush as girlfriend. All this goes away, he becomes ugly because of his enemies and finally the revenge.His love does not leave him in his bad time. The other thing that I liked is whatever ill happened to him were reversible.What Hollywood is to Bollywood, the same Bollywood is to Tollywood. The additional phrase entertainment, entertainment and entertainment makes such movie happening among local audience.Direction, Screenplay, Cinematography: The movie comes to us from a celebrated director, 'S. Shankar' who also bought us Nayak (The Real Hero), Indian, Aparichit and Sivaji. It is good. Screenplay and cinematography are good too.Music: A. R. Rahman (music) + only 1 song in language I know = It is good. Acting: AverageFinal Verdict: Finally the soul of the movie lies in the statement 'Innocent love that triumphs!' It's an entertaining flick worth watching.
Sruthi Krishna
I saw 'I' with my family. And this is the second movie in a row featuring 'Lingeswaran' that we weren't particularly fond of (the first being Linga of course).To begin with, I don't understand how 'I' was rated U/A when it is definitely more suitable for an audience of 18+ (parents, you might need to exercise a lot of caution during the film). Second, the movie itself is NOT a remake of the Beauty and the Beast (which is no doubt a Disney classic). 'I' is perhaps very very loosely based on the theme. But it is way darker and grotesque than the adorably innocent animated film. So if you go expecting a fairy tale movie, you are gonna be devastated (much like I was). That been said, this movie is perhaps worth a watch for the sheer brilliance of Vikram. Vikram out did himself with his acting and of course throwing himself into the role of the model as well as the hunchback. He was mind blowing and certainly surpassed his past performances in movies like Anyan and so on. No wonder Arnold was impressed.Finally, the make up and direction. As pathetic as the screenplay was, the make up was out of this world and we had no negative comments on the direction. Shankar had no doubt paid extreme attention to detail and must I say, it definitely paid off brilliantly.
DareDevilKid
Reviewed by: Dare Devil Kid (DDK)Rating: 1.5/5 starsShankar, who wears his commercial tag like a medallion, has an addiction for making big commercial films. While he's been quite successful at it all these years, it has slowly started to have an adverse effect on his films to the extent that even the presence of a bankable star like Vikram, doesn't add much value to the output.In his much anticipated film "I", Shankar proves yet again that only he can take a wafer thin plot and turn it into something outlandishly beautiful. Alas, it isn't enough to infuse some vigor into an insipid screenplay. Mostly known for making message-oriented films in which the hero single-handedly takes on the system, Shankar attempts to narrate a mash-up of a romantic, sci-fi, thriller tale in his latest offering, said to be made at a budget of over Rs. 100 crore - the result is harebrained, juvenile, bloated, and utterly convoluted.Vikram plays a bodybuilder, Lingesan, who idolizes Arnold Schwarzenegger and supermodel Diya, played by Amy Jackson. If the posters of Arnold decorate the walls of his lower middle class home and his gym (which is named after Arnold), there's a box full of women's products endorsed by Diya in his bedroom. In a funny scene, when he's caught red-handed by his friend and asked what he is going to do with all the products (holding a pack of sanitary napkin), Lingesan nonchalantly says he will use it as a pillow. In these refreshing initial moments, Shankar helps us understand that Lingesan has extreme liking for Diya but doesn't love her yet because of their social and cultural divide.In any other south film, he would've stalked her to the point she eventually gives in. Here, Shankar doesn't tread that path and that's a big relief. However, the story soon takes a detour when Lingesan turns overnight into a model, Lee, soon becoming a sensation in the glamorous world of advertising, and earning the wrath of a few along the way. It is from here that Shankar's "I" ends up becoming a big-budget mess and a mundane revenge drama.Shankar likes to take his audiences to vast, unknown locations even if it's not required. This time he travels to China, shoots in some picturesque locations, and makes Vikram feature in a well- choreographed action sequence. It's here that he makes Vikram and Amy fall unconvincingly in love. He also feels the need to create a love triangle and introduces a transgender makeup artist, played by Ojas Rajani, who lusts after Vikram. It's a complete shame that Shankar resorts to playing with the sensibilities of a transgender character, openly mocking at the sexual orientation, and painting the character as a jilted fiend.Vikram may have worked tirelessly gaining and losing weight for his role, but that doesn't necessarily translate to good acting. In both the roles - as a body builder and a hunchbacked man with a rare cell deterioration disease - he makes one take notice of his potential and how far he can go for cinema; it's about time he delivers on that potential. Amy Jackson chips in with a surprisingly decent performance and has worked hard on her lip sync, at least in some crucial scenes. Upen Patel, Suresh Gopi, and Ramkumar Ganesan come across as misfits in their respective roles.Given the lavish budget, "I" is visually grandiose, and that's not a surprise. But the visuals don't make up for the weak script, tacky direction, huge plot-holes, and major demand on a complete suspension of disbelief. Even AR Rahman's music isn't up-to-the- mark. Returning after a gap of three years, Shankar should've gauged the pulse of the audience who now prefer shorter, more sensible films, over a 3-hour, dazzling, albeit convoluted mess. All that's big may not necessarily be great. Hope Shankar realizes that much better films can be made on a smaller canvas and lower budget.
