The most anticipated film of the year, Coolie, the Lokesh Kanagaraj directorial featuring Rajinikanth in the lead role, has hit theatres. While Tamil Nadu’s earliest show is at 9 am, fans across India have caught the film already and have taken to their respective social media handles to pen their opinion on the film. So far, the film has been receiving middling reviews, with praises for Anirudh’s music and the ensemble cast, particularly Rajinikanth’s screen presence. However, these reviews have largely described the screenplay as run-of-the-mill and sluggish.
An X user, named ‘THEPANIPURI’ clearly charted out the positives and negatives of the film. THe post read, “#Coolie Review : “Hey #LokeshKanagaraj” Rating : 2.25/5 Positives: Screen presence of #SuperstarRajnikanth. #Anirudh’s pulsating BGM. Negatives: Storyline. Sluggish screenplay struggles to maintain momentum. The direction lacks clarity and focus, resulting in a film that feels disjointed and uninspired despite the star power.”
Meanwhile, another user has given an overwhelmingly positive review to the film, specially mentioning the de-aged version of Rajinikanth in Coolie. User ‘SwethaLittle_’ wrote, “#Coolie - 4.5. Lokesh Kanagaraj and team delivered a blockbuster. 1st Half - Good mix of Mass & Loki's plot twists. One of the best de-aging in Kollywood The mass scenes in the second half worked out big time. @rajinikanth sir sambavam.”
A lot of Tamil films this year have been critiqued for having a good premise but letting the screenplay down in the second half. X user ‘Searching4ligh1’ said that Coolie’s second half is the best aspect of the entire film. “#Coolie Looks like the second half curse is finally over for Kollywood as Thalaivar & Loki delivers their bestest second half in recent times. Thalaivar rudhra thandavam on his 50th year is an understatement.”
X user ‘CKReview1’ reviewed all aspects of the film, including casting, characterisation, and commercial elements. “Charismatic Superstar, F/B Deaging seq Mass. Shoubin full full-fledged role. Stylish Nag- Poor characterization. Shruthi & Rachita gud. Anirudh superb work. Weak Content & Clumsy screenplay; Its all over the places. Gud Stunts. Wannabe Cameos. AVERAGE,” the review read.
An X user, who caught the first day first show of the film in Dubai, said that the first half of the film does not live up to expectations. The review read, “DUBAI FDFS 1st half Review: The 1st thing is dont get into the screens with the level of hype that we ourselves have created for this project, still I strongly believe in LOKI’s 2nd half, hope he doesn’t disappoint !!”
Box office reports indicate that Coolie is smashing records, not only across India, but worldwide, with advance bookings. As per trade analysts, the film reported collected nearly Rs 125 crores on the first day pre-sales alone. A standalone film by Lokesh Kanagaraj, Coolie also stars Soubin Shahir, Nagarjuna, Upendra, Sathyaraj, Shruti Haasan and Aamir Khan in prominent roles. The film, backed by Sun Pictures, has music by Anirudh Ravichander, cinematography by Girish Gangadharan and editing by Philomin Raj.
