In my opinion, the the visual effects were the worst part of the movie,with the exception of the portrayal of Kamal's Dasaavatharams. Why spend crores and depict an half-baked illusion on the screen? I found it very hard to digest.
The dialogues spoken by Kamal were way too fast in the initial scenes. Normally narration happens at a slow pace and lets the idea sink in to the audience. On the contrary, Kamal's narration was fast to say the least.
The screenplay of the movie was good on the whole. The chase sequences are also pretty racy and keep you on the edge of your seat. The first half of the movie was engaging but the pace slackens after the intermission.
At times, the lengthy dialogues perpetrated to evince humor fail to make the desired impact. Instead the dampen the narrative and act as a bottleneck in producing an absorbing fare. By and large, the humor quotient was good and at a level one has come to associate with the Kamal Hassan- K.S.Ravikumar duo. Certain dialogues do prove to be witty and intelligent.
The songs were nice and the background music was noteworthy. There were flashes of brilliance throughout the movie but it was marred by some seemingly irreverent scenes. The best part is reserved for the end. The climax was top notch. In fact, two of Kamal's avatars head against each other in a scintillating fight sequence.
Of the 10 roles essayed by Kamal, the character of Vincent Poovaraghavan was the best in terms of display of histrionic skills. Balaram Naidu was another interesting character where Kamal plays an intelligence official and it contributes most to the comedy clamor. Kamal plays the role of an ex-CIA with aplomb and has scenes that remind one about Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator. I felt the role of Bush was unnecessary and it was just another marketing ploy. Kamal's imitation though was of high standards, especially the accent.
The story was innovative, but the treatment lacks authenticity. How else would you explain a sole silly official and a bunch of jokers go hunting after a potent biochemical device that could destroy millions? Having set high standards in his movies, we expect more common sense from Kamal. It was like a mockery on the country's intelligence system.
The make up for the 10 roles are so good that until the end when the process that went into creating the various characters is revealed, many would not actually recognize the various roles played by Kamal. The make up for the role of Bush and Japanese character deserves special mention.
The movie shows the hard work and the pain that has gone into its making. It is this fact, that makes it even more baffling why the creators got complacent ion certain aspects. The efforts are evident they alone do not make a movie of high standards. Perhaps, the high hopes created before the release proved to be the movie's undoing. I t is nowhere in the same league as some Kamal's best efforts. It is a commercial movie with some creativity and loads of dedication strewn in. It is certainly not the magnum opus it was meant to be. It is a honest attempt at best. A motley of genres, that had great potential. In trying too many things in one movie, the makers have lost the plot.
