Story
Muthu (Rajinikanth) is a retired jailer who stays with his family consisting of his wife (Ramya Krishnan), son (Vasanth Ravi), daughter-in-law (Mirnaa Menon) and a grandson. His son is an ACP and a sincere police officer. Varma (Vinayakan) is a smuggler who steals valuable idols from temples and sells them. When Muthu's son takes on Varma’s empire, he goes missing. Rest of the story is about what the retired jailer has done to the criminal empire of Varma.

Artists Performance

Rajinikanth: Rajinikanth plays a mature role in this film. He is excellent. He uses swag and style to maximum effect despite doing an aged role. He brings the mysticism to his actions when he smiles before doing something unthinkable. This film is a complete treat to fans and the general audiences who like Rajinikanth. It's been a while since we had seen an universally entertaining film from Rajini. And this is the one from him after Robo and 2.0.

Others: Ramya Krishnan is perfect as the hero’s wife though her role is a little limited. Vasanth Ravi is satisfactory in a crucial role. Vinayakan is good as the villain with an eccentricity. We have a battalion of guest actors in the film from various languages. The director has cleverly connected the roles of these actors to Rajinikanth. All guest actors, except for Sunil and Tamanna work as assassins to the hero. Shiva Rajakumar is excellent. Mohal Lal is natural with his charming swag. Jackie Shroff plays his part convincingly. Tamanna sizzles as a film actress in the special song of Kavala. By looking at the first look of Sunil as Blast Mohan, we might be fooled to think of him as a mafia man. But, it's a completely different role which is exploited by the hero for his benefit. Yogi Babu is hilarious as a cab driver. VTV Ganesh (evadra nuvvu intha talented ga vunnav - Beast film) is entertaining as a psychiatrist. Kannada Kishore did a cameo.

Story - screenplay - direction: The story of the film is nice. It’s about a retired Jailer who is known for unconventional/violent methods and lives a peaceful retirement life. He is drawn into it again for the sake of his son. It’s a powerful story line. Director Nelson has written a nice screenplay for the film. And used good techniques to create interest and impact. He has balanced violence, family emotion and entertainment very well in the first half. There is a lot of entertainment generated with the characters played by Yogi Babu and VTV Ganesh because of the situations they are put in. The interval episode sets the stage perfectly for the 2nd half. A couple twists get the story of the second half extended. While actors from other languages are used as the hero’s old connections who later help him in taking revenge, the Telugu actor Sunil is used as a bakra. We had seen such scenes in many Telugu films in the past. Hence that part doesn't excite us much. However, the climax of the film is well thought and well written. Director Nelson Dilip Kumar has shown Rajinikanth in all glory even though he's an aged character.

Other departments: Anirudh Ravichander’s music is a huge asset to the film. He matches the music with swag and adrenaline rush required for scenes and elevates them. Two songs (senti song in first half and Kaavala in 2nd half) are superb. Hukum song is used as the background score to maximum effect. Cinematography by Vijay Karthik Kannan is first rate. The colour grading and visual effects match the style of the movie. Editing by R Nirmal is fine. Art direction by DRK Kiran is good. Action choreography by Stun Siva is superb. Production values by Sun Pictures banner are grand.

Analysis: The story of the film is carefully written in such a way that the hero’s age is mature, but his killing instinct is intact. It’s about how he is drawn back into violence because some evil element tries to harm his family member. We have seen such characterisations in many Hollywood films in the past including ‘Taken’. Similar plot is tried in Kamal Haasan's Vikram too where a peaceful man is drawn back into voilence. The characterisation written to Rajinikanth perfectly matched him. The first half of the film is very good. Second half is a bit uneven and has complete action-orientation, but the climax makes up for it. It's a little slow as well. On the whole, Jailer is a well made film that caters to both Rajinikanth fans and general audiences equally well. You may watch it!