Thalapathy Vijay's Leo roars globally, now streaming in English

Thalapathy Vijay's blockbuster Leo is now available for streaming in English on Netflix. The English-dubbed version of the Tamil hit began streaming on Tuesday. Now, the film is available in five languages, including Hindi and Telugu. 

Leo became the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2023 worldwide. Directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, the film was loosely inspired by the popular graphic book novel A History Of Violence. 

Lokesh borrowed the core idea of a man going to great lengths to hide his bloody and sinful past under the guise of a mellow and harmless family man. However, the film's treatment vastly varies from the book and the 2005 Hollywood blockbuster of the same name. 

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Lokesh places this plot in a full-fledged action thriller while compromising greatly on the drama. From start to end, the film aims to keep the viewers engaged with non-stop action with minimal emphasis on dramatic elements. Vijay shoulders the bulk of the film's pressure, delivering not only high-octane action scenes but also a compelling dramatic performance.

Leo opened in cinemas in October amid a lot of expectations. However, the film received mixed reactions from critics and audiences alike. "All the plot devices that director Lokesh Kanagaraj and his team of screenwriters use are borrowed from the old playbook of making routine potboilers. Trisha's Sathya, for example, reacts to the high-stake life-and-death situations like a typical housewife that we have seen in plenty of Tamil movies. So are Sanjay Dutt's Antony Das and Arjun's Harold Das — they play typical villains committing typical villainy. There's no flair or originality to these characters," read OTTplay's 2.5 star review. 

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Despite plenty of scathing reviews, aimed at Lokesh's direction and storytelling, thanks to Vijay's stardom, Leo emerged as this year's biggest hit. The film grossed over Rs 612 crore from its worldwide ticket sales, overtaking the collection of Superstar Rajinikanth's Jailer.