After continuously working with his brother Jayam Ravi, Mohan Raja seems to change track with this pure Vijay film. Well, Vijay who was in a dark phase for a while has taste moderate success in Kaavalan and is still searching for a strong comeback film to revive his career. Unfortunately, Velayudham doesn't seem to be a turning point film for Vijay because it's, again and again, the same Vijay template film. Velayudham is a rehashed version of Vijay's earlier film Thirupaachi. We have the same sister sentiment and a larger-than-life superhero Vijay who is fighting the bad guys. Well, in Thirupaachi, he fought for his sister's life whereas, in Velayudham, he is fighting for the people. Vijay plays the similar superhero role that he is doing since his Thirumalai days. He is lifting the film with his effortless performance. We don't need Soori nor Santhanam in the comedy scenes because Vijay scores brilliantly in them. He brings us tears in the emotional scenes whereas he gives us goosebumps in the action scenes. Velayudham is watchable only for the entertaining Vijay factor. Other than him, we don't have any strong supporting actors lifting the film. I will say Genelia has a slightly interesting role which has turned into a cliche role later in the narrative. Mohan Raja who is known for making properly packaged commercial entertainers has once again proved his skills in it but Velayudham doesn't seem to be an interesting film at all. We don't have any refreshing elements except the social message factor in the climax. Vijay cannot change track with Velayudham because it doesn't have anything different from his usual films. Mohan Raja seemingly packaged Velayudham to satisfy Vijay's fans and the family audience. Vijay Anthony's background score elevates Vijay's screen presence and it adds the much-needed heroism to his character. The song placements don't help the film at all because it slows down the intense pace of the overall narrative. There are so many illogical scenes that we can't care about in a Vijay film. Mohan Raja has done justice to Vijay's larger-than-life star image but he couldn't make a much interesting film. The lack of originality in the content seems to not work in favor of the film. Even the entertaining first half seems to not have any focus on the plot. One thing is guaranteed in Velayudham. The engagement factor won't let you down in the film. The film keeps us awaken with its strong fan moments and thrilling plot points towards the climax. Overall, Velayudham is a usual Vijay film for the hardcore Vijay fans.
Review of Velayudham
