Directed by: H. Vinoth
Written by: H Vinoth
Produced by: Boney Kapoor
Starring: Ajith Kumar, Kartikeya Gummakonda, Huma Qureshi, and others
Cinematography: Nirav Shah
Edited by: Vijay Velukutty
Score: Ghibran
Songs: Yuvan Shankar Raja
Production Companies: Zee Studios, Bayview Projects LLP

iQlik Movies Rating: 2.5/5

Star hero Ajith had his first pan-India release in the form of Valimai. Directed by H. Vinoth, this movie has hit the screens across the globe today. Touted to be an action thriller, it featured Telugu hero Karthikeya as the antagonist. Here is the review of it:

Story:
A bike gang mafia run by a mastermind criminal (Karthikeya) performs various crimes in Chennai like chain snatching and a few drug-related crimes. The government appoints potential police officer Arjun (Ajith) to take up this case and nab the criminals. How Ajith managed to stop Karthikeya forms the main crux of the movie.

Performances:
Ajith is the heart and soul of this movie. He is a perfect fit for these kinds of action thrillers. Performance-wise, we have seen him doing these kinds of roles in films like Mankatha and Aarambam. However, the elements of bike racing added an extra layer to his character. Ajith, who is a bike racer in real life, did some extraordinary stunts in the movie.

After Gang Leader, Karthikeya played a villain role for the second time in this movie. Just like in Gang Leader, his role has a racing connection in this movie as well. He did a decent job.

Bollywood actress Huma Qureshi played another key role in the film. She is not a regular female lead in it but is seen alongside Ajith as a fellow cop. Rest others have nothing significant to play in the movie.

Technical Aspects:
Director Vinoth chose yet another story that had a very good potential to be made as a proper thriller. He excels in the first half with his writing but fails in the second half. Vinoth didn't amalgamate the emotional scenes and thrilling elements well in the latter half, which spoils the mood of the viewers eventually.

Music director Yuvan Shankar Raja was routine with the songs but has done an exceptional job with the background score. The BGM remains the major highlight of the movie. Cinematographer Nirav Shah also did a fabulous job in bringing A-class visuals on the screens. Special appreciation for the action choreography. The editing was bland in the second half.

Analysis:
Valimai starts off on a very interesting note. The director establishes the crimes happening in the city and how the entire bike mafia is taking place. The film is racy until the interval point. However, things fall flat in the second half. There are a few sentiment scenes that didn't gel well with the rest of the story.

As a result, we feel bored all of a sudden and the boredom continues till the end of the film. Treating the second half as the first half would have made Valimai a fun action thriller to watch. But it fails in becoming one. On the whole, Valimai ends up as an average outing.

Plus Points:
Action scenes
Background score
Ajith's performance
Production values

Minus Points:
Sentiment scenes in the second half
Lengthy runtime
Weak storyline

One-line verdict: Go only for action sequences