Maari 2 Review: An Underwhelming sequel that loses its flavour mid-way

Maari 2 is the sequel to the successful Maari that depicted Dhanush as a Don who works with certain principle, for the first time!

And for that very aspect, the movie went on to become a hit. When you have a Don who is charming, good hearted and fights for a good cause, that’s not something you see quite commonly.

But in Maari 2, that very essence of Maari the don went missing mid-way and the movie thereafter wanders in different directions leaving us confused.

And hence there is no charm to Maari 2 as there was in Maari. But we can’t say that Maari 2 is totally off as far as the charm and mass is concerned.

Marri 2 has its own share of mass moments and plenty of laughter moments, though the jokes are not up to the mark.

From the trailer you would know that the story is about someone who wants to kill Maari by all means and Maari is someone who can’t die.

Maari is someone who celebrates survival from rival attempts by cutting cake (on the 100th attempt). Dhanush tries his very best to carry the charm of the don Maari throughout the movie.

Sadly it only works about half the time. And when Maari the don turns into a soft, loving husband, the movie loses its path completely and puts us off.

Nevertheless, Dhanush definitely has put his whole self into the character and has delivered the best.

Dhanush as Maari kills, kidnaps and does a lot of crime in a funnily-charming manner, yet respects friendship, respects women, has a good heart and is indeed a nice man.

The character is a perfect example of “Neenga nallavara illa kettavara” and none other than Dhanush could have done it well.

Gangadhar Beeja (Tovino Thomas) is the villain (yes, even though the hero is a thug, there has to be a villain) who wants to kill Maari, and we are told why via a subplot.

He is shown as a menacing person who is focused on the goal of killing Maari. Tovino Thomas does fit in the role of Beeja who is compared to Thanatos the Greek god of death.

Sai Pallavi is a pleasant surprise in the movie and there is a very fine line between being a charming loosu ponnu and an annoying one.

Sai Pallavi manages to stay on this side of the line mostly and that’s convincing. Her characterization is not that of a conventional heroine, while she is after Maari trying to win his heart.

Varalaxmi Sarathkumar could have been used a lot better in the movie.

The movie has many flashback moments that makes you feel overwhelmed. Not only this gives you too many details to digest, but it also dilutes the focus of the story.

Comedy works for the most part, but it definitely lacks the punch that Maari had. Robo Shankar does his best but that rowdy energy that he had in Maari seems to be missing in Maari 2.

We can see Dhanush imitating Super Star in various places both in dialogue delivery and mannerism. In fact, the way the shots are put forth, you can see resemblances to Kaala quite obviously.

Om Prakash has made the movie a lot vibrant and has given energy to the visuals with his cinematography.

Music, on the other hand, is somewhat disappointing. Rowdy Baby has gone viral, but apart from that we don’t see much of BG to support Maari 2’s spirit.

Overall, Maari 2 is a lot underwhelming compared to Maari. The movie has lost its trademark and originality that the original Maari infused in the audience.

Nevertheless Maari 2 is a decent watch.