After a streak of letdowns in Indian Cinema, weighed down by extreme hype, Nelson Dilipkumar has finally broken the curse, and he did it with the one and only superstar, Rajinikanth. Jailer 2 delivers exactly what was expected: a solid commercial entertainer, with cameos that do their job and a little more besides.
The Story
Jailer 2 picks up where the first film ended. Muthuvel Pandiyan is trying to move on, staying low and going with whatever life throws at him. Soon enough, it becomes clear that his moves, though they look random, were calculated all along and had a purpose.
Meanwhile, a ghost from the past is closing in, something left behind by Varman, the character Vinayakan played so brilliantly in part 1. Suraj Venjaramoodu plays Dilip, a man with a similar outlook to Varman who is out for revenge this time. He brings his own signature mannerisms to the role, which makes the character special and gives his fellow Malayali fans a few whistle worthy moments.
What Works
The story unfolds organically around a calm, composed Rajini who comes out of his hood only when he is properly irked. What makes Muthuvel Pandiyan special in this series is that he never loses his cool and handles every trouble in his path with composure. At times I couldn’t help comparing Nelson’s MVP to Jeethu Joseph’s Georgekutty from Drishyam, since both calculate ahead, predict what is coming and prepare tactically for all of it.
The first half is well baked, with plenty of lighthearted moments from Yogi Babu, Rajini and others building up to the big interval punch. The interval itself is a grand show of events, backed by Anirudh’s tremendous background score and Rajini’s beast mode roaring across the screen, with more to come after that.
The screenplay then shifts gear and moves to Goa, where we meet more faces from the Jailer universe, including S. J. Suryah, Vidya Balan and Mithun Chakraborty. A fantastic cameo, along with the usual ones carried over from the first film, lifts the film to a higher level.
We also get a glimpse of Tamannaah’s Kaavaalaa on screen for a few seconds, which should quiet the complaints from younger fans about her absence in this sequel.
What Doesn’t
There are only one or two small complaints. Mohanlal, back as Mathew, gets far less screen space than in the prequel, and the same goes for Shivarajkumar. Worse, in one climax sequence Mohanlal’s fake beard is so obvious that it takes away from his screen presence at the very moment the payoff should hit.
Verdict
Nelson wins big with Jailer 2. Once again he shows he knows how to present stars exactly the way their fans want to see them, with a brilliant blend of style, action, swag and his signature dark humor. Rajinikanth also deserves credit for pulling off a sequence we have rarely, if ever, seen him do in his films. The actor in him earns real appreciation here.
A heads up: there are a few surprises in this installment, so watch out for spoilers before you go in.