Hit List Movie Review: A staple commercial film with a social message
Hit List Movie Review: With a message and a flashback that connects all threads, Hit List find itself on a list of films that are made with sincere intentions.
2.5/5
May 31, 2024
Hit List
Hit List story
Vijay (Vijay Kanishka) is a corporate employee who lives with his sister Keerthana (Abi Nakshatra) and mother (Sithara). A peace-loving person, Vijay advocates for vegetarianism and even takes on his neighbour for setting up rat traps. His family gets abducted by a mysterious person who holds Vijay at gunpoint and orders him to do violent acts. How will he save them with the help of police officer Yazhvendan (Sarathkumar)?
Hit List review
Contrast seems to be a running theme in Hit List. Somewhere in the middle of the film, we see Vijay, an ardent follower of ahimsa and respectful of every life, forced to finish off a thug in a one-on-one battle. Or, as the mystery abductor puts it, a “virgin kolakaran” (he is called so because he was recently forced to behead a hen) against someone who wouldn’t care less to kill a man in the blink of an eye.
There is also an instance when Vijay supports going vegetarian during an event for veganism (of course there is a huge difference between the two). In another instance, Vijay refuses to talk to his sister for a week because she took it up on herself to handle eve teasers . But barring such instances, which sometimes give unintentional quips, and basic filmmaking, Hit List is a film that means well even as it is a staple commercial film with a social message.
If you break Hit List to the bare bones, it is mainly a cat-and-mouse chase between two men, which makes you wonder what a possible connection between them would warrant for a story. Thankfully, there is one, even though it may not come off as unique. Hit List takes a pertinent topic that ravaged the lives of many a few years ago and becomes a film that is packed with a social message and emotional drama. Now, this may not be everyone’s cup of tea, especially given its rudimentary nature. The presence of Samuthirakani affirms this, and if you have followed the actor’s body of work and inclination towards societal messages, then Hit List may not come off as a surprise.
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In Hit List, Sarathkumar plays Yazhvendan and what amuses me is how, despite the film being his third consecutive crime thriller in which he plays a senior officer who pairs up with a youngster (after Por Thozhil and Paramporul), this role still seems to be different. While he gets his heroic moments (and a scene where he dignifiedly avoids supporting vegetarianism), Vijay Kanishka delivers an honest performance, giving us a peek into his ability to deliver emotions.
Thankfully, the film skips portions of unnecessary romance and songs, but we are still not spared of a woman trying to lure our hero and distancing herself after being told he isn’t modern in the cliched terms of going to nightclubs and partying. The downside of Hit List are some violent portions that do not necessarily add on to the story, even as the film delves into an abductor torturing his victims to manipulate and coerce, apart from starkly naming a pivotal character from the recent history pages in Tamil Nadu to talk about an issue.
Hit List is a film that takes a long time and a roundabout turn to get to its message. Or rather, it masquerades as a crime thriller to spill out its true intentions. The film, as stated earlier, packs no surprises, barring a few castings that are even more predictable as the film progresses.
Hit List verdict
To break the film down to the basics means to say that Hit List fulfils its objectives, which are not highly placed. With a message, a flashback that connects all threads, and some moments that make you tense (and you may not be, given the number of films that have similar processes), Hit List makes it to the list of films that are made with true and sincere intentions. But that alone isn’t enough in an era of filmmaking that has surpassed merely having good notions.
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