COBRA REVIEW
Math or Without Math, Cobra Is A Complete Chiyaan Vikram Show
Cobra directed by Ajay Gnanamuthu is finally out in theatres. This is the first time the director is collaborating with actor Vikram. How is this most awaited movie? Was Ajay able to solve the problems with his mathematic equation? To know more read our review here.
The movie begins with high-profile assassinations happening in different parts of the world and the Interpol has no clue about the criminal. With the help of a criminology student Judith Samson (Meenakshi Govindarajan) from Chennai who is also a math genius, Interpol officer Aslan Yilma (Irfan Pathan) finds out these assassinations are carried out by a genius mathematician whom they name as “Cobra”. Aslan then lands in India to catch the assassin. We are then introduced to Mathiazhagan (Vikram) who is a math genius and lives a mundane life. Bhavana (Srinidhi Shetty) who is a professor is in love with Mathiazhagan who doesn’t reciprocate her feelings. As the investigation goes on all the evidence points toward Mathi. Is Mathi the real assassin? If yes, what’s the story behind these assassinations forms the crux of this film.
The making and casting of Cobra are brilliant, the problem with the movie is its length and logical loopholes. Vikram gives an outstanding performance; it’s altogether a one-man show. He carries out every getup in this movie brilliantly. The interrogation scene receives claps, and it reminds us of his performance in Anniyan, though this is an entirely different concept altogether. Srinidhi Shetty looks beautiful and delivered a neat performance. Her chemistry with Vikram clicks well. Mirnalini Ravi gets to play a small part and does it well. Sarjano Khalid plays the younger version of Vikram, and he does the part exceedingly well. Irfan Pathan makes a perfect debut and does a neat job. His role in the second half seemed to have been sidelined and he didn’t have anything to do in the later part of the movie. Roshan Mathew gets to play the negative role and he does it with ease, but his character could have been written better.
The first half of the movie is intriguing, and the mathematical reasons are interesting. AR Rahman’s BGM is pulsating, and it makes the scenes engaging. Cinematography needs a special mention, all the scenes are captured beautifully and add value to the film. Editing could have been crisp. The second half is longer and needs to be trimmed a little to make it more interesting. Run time is the major drawback of the film. Love portions could have been avoided and the flashback portion seemed longer. Few logical loopholes here and there. Though Vikram plays a role of a Math prodigy, there aren’t many scenes where it shows his actual skill except for playing sudoku. Especially the second half doesn’t seem to have got any mathematical solution. All that works is a complicated emotion. Ajay Gnanamuthu has tried a different concept and it works out in parts. It doesn’t stand out as it lacks clarity and ends up being overstuffed. The second half could have been written better. The twist in the interval block is good and shoots up the expectation to watch the second half. Overall, Cobra is thrilling but fails to impress us towards the end. Watch it for Vikram and go without any expectation.