Tamil hero Vishal has gained a lot of craze in Telugu states over the years with his dubbing films. No matter the result, he keeps releasing his films in Telugu and some of his films were very good successes. He is going through a dry spell recently but the trailer of ‘Mark Antony’ generated a lot of buzz. Let us find out how the movie turned out to be.
Story:
Mark (Vishal) is a mechanic who runs a garage and he dislikes his father Antony (Vishal) who dies long back. Mark hates Antony as the latter killed his mother and committed many atrocities. Mark has a lot of respect towards Antony’s friend Jackie Marthanda (SJ Suryah) who has raised him since childhood. One day, Mark finds a phone where he can talk to people from the past. He goes back to his father’s time and gets to know some shocking truths. How Mark’s life gets turned after this incident forms the rest of the story.
Analysis:
In the middle of all the routine mass action content Vishal churns out, he comes up with something unique at times. He used to do that a lot till a few years back. Movies like ‘Palnadu’, ‘Indrudu’, ‘Abhimanyudu’ and ‘Detective’ gave what the audience wanted and offered something new as well. But he bored the audience with subpar movies lately. But he and his team delivered a lot of shocks and surprises with ‘Mark Antony’. Talking through the time over a phone and the hero going back in time to change what happened has been dealt with a lot of times before but the way the director used this concept for generating comedy is quite good. We have seen time traveling in many films including ‘Oke Oka Jeevitham’, ‘24’, ‘Playback’ and others. But they never offered a heavy dose of entertainment and it is where ‘Mark Antony’ is ahead of others. But the movie is too loud. The audience may get irritated after a point as everything starting from music to acting is way too loud from the start to end. This is why ‘Mark Antony’ wasn’t able to entertain the audience above a certain level.
Bringing an actor like SJ Suryah on board is the best decision Adhik took as it elevated the film to another level. Though he is a villain, he carries the movie on his shoulders like a hero. When a crazy idea and a crazy actor meet, the output will be like ‘Mark Antony’. SJ Suryah was way above others in this film. His antics and performance in this movie are nothing short of amazing and we can watch him for hours together. Suryah played a crazy role in a time-traveling film like ‘Maanadu’ before and it is Suryah who dominated Simbu in that movie too. It is the same for ‘Mark Antony’ too. With the director not restricting the actor, his over-the-top antics and performance were on full display. They are the ones which saved ‘Mark Antony’ to a large extent. The same situation keeps happening due to time travel which is a minus but the director tried to present it as entertainingly as he could. Adhik has to be commended for that.
Usually, there is a bit of class touch in time travel movies but ‘Mark Antony’ is a complete mass film. The director included a time travel concept in a gangster drama and wrote a crazy story. But ‘Mark Antony’ tests your patience till the phone concept arrives. With the loudness and craziness becoming a bit too much at the start, one fails to connect with the movie. But ‘Mark Antony’ gets on track once the time travel concept is brought into the foreground. We understand that the characters and their motives are entirely different from what was shown till then. The interval arrives with a banging episode and changes the impression on the movie. The second half runs on an unpredictable note with one crazy episode popping up after another. With SJ Suryah in the driver’s seat, the movie becomes a crazy and enjoyable ride. The Silk Smitha episode which caught our attention in the trailer has worked out very well in the movie. But the audience lose interest after a certain point due to excessive craziness. While the proceedings themselves are over-the-top, the loud BGM also adds to the irritation of the audience. Films with time travel concept demand leaving logic behind and we need to ignore a lot of things to have fun. We get stuck in the middle if we start thinking logically or rationally. The director has taken a lot of liberty and made this film. Had the first half been stronger with engaging screenplay and focused narration, ‘Mark Antony’ would have been even better. But the film has the content to make you ignore its flaws and enjoy the craziness. People who like freshness will be impressed by ‘Mark Antony’. But beware of the loudness in the movie which is way overboard.
Performances:
Vishal has shown versatility in his acting after a long time. With the hero aging and getting out of shape, it is tough to see him as a youngster. But he excelled in the vintage character. We get connected to that character and his performance as the old man is also amazing. But it is SJ Suryah who got highlighted more than Vishal in this movie.
If used properly, SJ Suryah can create wonders onscreen. The character suits his crazy acting and he showcased a lot of variations in the role that gave him a lot of scope to perform. ‘Mark Antony’ becomes a paisa vasool film if we connect with his role. Ritu Varma and Abhinaya got insignificant roles but they did their best. Sunil got a prominent role and he justified his selection. Selva Raghavan surprised everyone in a special character.
Technicians:
The technical team delivered what the director wanted. The retro feel has been maintained throughout the movie. GV Prakash Kumar moved away from his regular style and gave loud music. While the songs are not that attractive, this BGM lifts the spirits in many moments. The visuals are quite good and the vintage feel has been created well. Art work and production values are astonishing. Writer-director Adhik Ravichandran selected an interesting point. He did not deal with the time travel concept like others and gave a new spin to it. His narration is loud and massy which may not be everyone’s cup of tea but the entertainment levels are quite high. Adhik scored a lot of points both as a writer and director in the second half.
Verdict: ‘Mark Antony’ – Crazy But Too Loud!!
