Genre: Action Thriller
Cast: Vijay, Trisha, Arjun, Sanjay Dutt, Gautam Menon and Others
Director: Lokesh Kanagaraj
Produced By: S S Lalit Kumar and Jagadish Palanisamy
Music: Anirudh Ravichander
Cinematography: Manoj Paramahamsa
Runtime: 164 Minutes (2hrs 44 mins)
Story
Parthiban (Vijay) lives with his family in Theog and he owns a Cafe. A gang of goons who are on a killing spree attacks Parthiban's Cafe. To save his daughter and a worker, Parthiban kills the goons. Police arrest Parthiban and the court releases him saying it is an act of self-defense. This becomes a big headline that reaches Anthony Das (Sanjay Dutt), Harold Das (Arjun) and his gang in South India. They see Parthiban's picture in the newspaper and immediately come to Theog to meet him as they think he is not Parthiban but he is Leo Das. Who is This Leo Das? What is the connection between Parthiban and Leo Das? How will Parthiban face Anthony Das and Harold Das? This forms the rest of the story.
Artiste Performances
Vijay gives a fabulous performance. He gets to sport two shades and he nails it in both. There are scenes where he emotionally breaks down and he has done an impressive job. Vijay's dance, swag and mannerisms are well utilized by Lokesh and are some of the major highlights in LEO.
Trisha as the female lead gives a good performance. Her scenes with Vijay, especially the emotional ones are well done. Madonna Sebastian is impressive in her cameo.
Sanjay Dutt as Anthony is great. Arjun too gives a decent performance. Gautham Menon in the supporting role does a fantastic job.
The rest of the cast are good too and have done their part.
Plus Points
Vijay's Swag and Portrayal of Two Shades
Lokesh's screenplay
Hyena Fight
Pre-Interval elevation
Bike-Car Chase sequence
Pre-Climax Trap scene
Climax Reveal scene and Closing point
Action Episodes
Cinematography
Anirudh's BGM
Drawbacks (Which I Felt)
Dragged at times
Dull moments in the second half
Not so impactful flashback
Analysis
Right from the word go, LEO has been a much-awaited movie to see how Lokesh was going to introduce LEO into the universe he is creating. Before the release, everyone was waiting to see whether LEO was part of LCU or not and the Answer is.... Yes! LEO is very much in the LCU.
The movie starts off by menacingly introducing the robber's gang. Then the story shifts to Theog where Vijay is Introduced as Parthiban. The intro scene is planned superbly Lokesh with a Hyena fight which is pure fan service. Even the title card is "Fan"tastic.
Parthiban's family is introduced followed by a song that is beautifully shot. The movie enters the first conflict point where the robbery gang attacks Parthiban's cafe. Lokesh superbly narrates the sequence with his touch of old songs in an action episode. The fight is excellently choreographed, The impact of every punch, kick and blow is felt. Vijay excels in an emotional breakdown here.
There is a 2-minute montage where Parthiban is scared of everything around him. This whole 2 minutes are completely taken over by Anirudh. Like the moan BGM in Vikram, he does it again in LEO. He composed a song like BGM for that 2 minutes which he nailed it pretty hard that will haunt you.
People start attacking Parthiban and he goes on a rampage killing them. This action sequence too is amazingly choreographed. Vijay does extremely well in a scene where he loses his temper in the police station.
News about Parthiban killing the gang who attacked his café becomes a news headline and Here, Das gang comes into the picture. A major twist is revealed and the key conflict point in the story comes into play. The proceedings are racy and the audience are hooked to the screens.
The pre-Interval to Interval bang is Awesome. Lokesh keeps the narration and screenplay going in a fan-pleasing way with Anirudh pumping the energy onto the screens with Badass Ma running in the background making it a Goosebumps filled BLOODY SWEET Interval bang.
After an excellent first half, the pacing drops for a while in the second half. Das's gang keeps following Parthiban and his family which becomes a concern and worrying thing for Parthiban. He tries his best to protect his family but somehow they end up being bothered and troubled.
There is a flashback episode of LEO which is not interesting. LEO's character must have been explored more and given a clear motive to make things better as he only is there for an action episode and a song. Even Sanjay Dutt and Arjun are under-utilized as their characters lack the needed depth. One good thing about the flashback is the cinematography in the action episode which is amazing.
The pacing is dull here and easily a few minutes could have been chopped off. Parthiban's family starts doubting him and gets to know why the Das family is chasing him. Here too there is an emotional breakdown scene and Vijay impresses with his emotional performance.
The pre-climax to end card is just Lokesh Kanagaraj Madness. Proceedings pick up the pace and come back on the track from here starting with a chase sequence. Every department has done its best for this. Music, Cinematography, Editing, Screenplay, Choreography and Action, the Whole scene will surely leave the Audience awe-struck!
There is an episode where Parthiban sets traps to save his family and the whole episode will give the audience an exciting experience. Lokesh uses a Chekov's gun here and he fires it and pays it off perfectly which will surely win audience applause. Parthiban's final face-off with Harold Das feels a bit dragged but a fan-pleasing action episode works in favor of the movie.
After an excellent action episode, the movie closes..... Nah Nah! Lokesh knows what the audience expects. He closes it with just a 30-second scene that will make the audience go bonkers... Goosebumps Guaranteed! This scene will make us understand why Lokesh was trying to narrate it differently from the beginning of the second half. He was staging everything for that closing point and he makes a clear shot with it.
Cinematography is one of the major assets of LEO. Few sequences are shot in mind mind-blowing way especially one particular shot in a flashback with an eagle perspective is awesome. Editing is decent but could have been better. Fights choreography too is top-notch.
Anirudh shows his prowess as always with his Background score and Music. He keeps pumping the adrenaline with his score till the end card and has done rocking work for LEO.
Lokesh Kanagaraj has done a brilliant job. Unlike Khaidi and Vikram which are more story-driven movies, he changes his style of narration for LEO and focuses more on character establishment into the universe he is setting up. Even The Technical aspects are much superior than the previous ones. Though we may feel Lokesh could have explored more into the character LEO, He doesn't miss his mark and has delivered an engaging action thriller which will make the audience leave the screens satisfied.
Final Word
Lokesh Kanagaraj is carefully putting all the characters into the world he is creating. Leaving aside the flaws, every film he has done till now had some different approach. The same goes for LEO. He changes his style of narration completely and hooks the audience to the screens. The first half is excellently done with some thrilling action episodes. Though the second half is dull compared to the first, Lokesh makes it all up with just a mind-blowing closing point that will surely satisfy the audience. On the whole, LEO ends up as an intriguing flick with a few hiccups.
Bottom-line: LEO - Bloody Gripping... A Fine addition to the Universe!
Note: This is my take on the movie. That is why I am not rating the movie. I respect each and every movie. Making people read my review and influencing them to form an impression of a movie before watching the movie is never my intention. I am a Movie lover too. This is just to express my view on the movie. 😊
Review by a Movie Lover