Not Again.

The amount of promotion this movie got, made people look up to its release, as Alex Pandian hits screens this Pongal, starring Karthi, Anushka, Santhanam, Milind Soman and several others.

So, what's new about this film? Absolutely nothing. The film opens with a hurt heroine being chased by a gazillion gundas, and the hero, as usual beating all of them up, but this time - on top of a moving train. Next, the comedian walks into his place to find the hero as his sudden "guest", and what continues is a whole half of pointless attempts at comedy and violence until the heroine makes an appearance again at the interval, after which it is revealed that Alex Pandian is a small-time crook who had kidnapped the heroine for the villains, and now after a change of heart, was opposing them. How he got to her, and whether he succeeds in saving her is what the movie is all about.

The movie has a tiring number of villains - 5, to be precise. The movie's pace is lethargic - the first half is filled with Karthi and Santhanam, who though share a wonderful chemistry, do not keep us engaged. Suraaj, known for the comedy quotient in his film, saw a decline with Mappilai, which has continued into this film as well. The second half, finally brings about the crux of the story, and the beating up of another million gundas and the villains.The haphazard and almost ridiculous placement of songs worsen the movie's pace. The acting department, though upto mark, sees a wide number of good artistes wasted on minor roles. Santhanam, who is now Kollywood's most-wanted USP, livens this movie up a bit, but even his performance, sadly, is not all wonderful. The cinematography, by Saravanan, brings to us some interesting angles. Music, nothing fresh.

Suraaj, who brings to screens, masala-action films, which though completely illogical, tend to keep audiences entertained, struck gold with Thalai Nagaram and Marudhamalai. Things began to dampen from Padikkadhavan, and Alex Pandian has turned out to be a disappointment as well. Tamil cinema has seen a thousand such films, and while some have managed to make it big at the box office, a slow, mediocre screenplay has let this film down.

This movie is only for die-hard fans of Karthi, and those masala-movie buffs.

Aditya Baskaran