Cobra movie review: Vikram puts his audience's love for him to the test in this overlong Ajay Gnanamuthu directorial

2/5

Story: Vikram plays Mathi, a mathematician in Cobra and has several different looks throughout the film, which reminds one of his role in Shankar's Anniyan.

Review: Based on my conversations with Vikram, I can see how he signs each film intending to present something new to the audience that they have never seen before. The man clearly enjoys experimenting with powerful, contrasting, layered, and varied roles. I'm not sure, maybe, he's established a pattern for himself that he's finding difficult to break. Most of his films fall into a specific category. As examples, consider Rajapattai, 10 Endrathukulla, Iru Mugan, and Kadaaram Kondaan. The protagonists in all of these films are not who they appear to be. They remain a mystery. They are inconsistent, intimidating, stylish, and interesting. (That's a fantastic combination!) His most recent outing, Cobra, is another example. Our protagonist sheds his personality traits like a snake sheds its skin.

In Dasavatharam, Kamal Haasan appeared in ten looks. In Cobra, Vikram appears almost everywhere you least expect him. You have to give it to him— eccentric or mundane—Vikram approaches his roles with utmost dedication. The actor gives everything he has. The enthusiasm with which he constantly changes his appearance, attire, and body language leaves you awestruck. You admire the effort that goes into each outfit he wears, and you wish the slogger had done it all for a more deserving drama.

Cobra aspires to be many things. Aslan (Irfan Pathan), a Turkish Interpol officer, has had sleepless nights due to a series of assassinations of world leaders. The officer learns, with the support of a criminology student from Chennai, that a suspect named Cobra is responsible for all of the assassinations, but his personality remains unknown. There are no prizes for guessing who Cobra is! But, why is he on a murderous rampage? This is the plot's point.

The film, like the snake, goes all out in a variety of ways. You don't know the answers to many questions. What is the connection between someone from Tamil Nadu going to kill people in Scotland and Odisha? I'm not going to give anything away!

During a tense scene, a key character casually remarks, “Hero-va kaapaatha vandha modhal villain nee dhaan.” It's this element of mystery that lends some excitement to the story, especially as the action kicks in. But alas, Cobra quickly loses its way, and more than once during its three-hour running time, you find yourself asking, “What's going on here?”

Anandaraj, Mohammad Ali Baig, Mia George, and the actor who played Vikram as a child, are a treat to watch, in the second half. These parts are hilarious, thanks to a superb Vikram. But, this is not the best of the actor's performances. However, once again, he does more for a film than the film does for him. He's a mathematician, a teacher, an assassin—whatever he is you want him to be. He enters the character and stays there. It's lovely, but it doesn't help a screenplay that's all over the place.

Even more disheartening is director Ajay Gnanamuthu's work. When it comes to plot, characterization and screenplay, there's very little that's worthy of being salvaged. Until the interval, the pace keeps up, but later Cobra begins to drag. Some sequences seem forced and convoluted. You're left wondering where exactly it's all going, and there are large doses of melodrama that rob the realistic effect. It all ties together in the last few minutes though.

Unfortunately, Vikram appears to be only concerned with his roles and performances. If this is the path he intends to take, I'm afraid it won't work. Because that's exactly what it is—one man's quest to reclaim his stardom, both on and off the screen! 

All right; moving on. The production values are excellent in Cobra. The cinematography of Bhuvan Srinivasan and Harish Kannan carries you through every frame with practised ease; editing works in certain phases, but the lagging parts don't seem to be the duo's problem, but the script's. Cobra is largely what it is because of AR Rahman's background score and songs. 

Verdict: You expect a fantastic movie but what you do get is a travesty that leaves you gaping at its extreme blandness. Cobra is a mediocre film that struggles to be both a compelling swashbuckling adventure as well as a moving drama. Vikram recently announced that he would once again team up with the director Ajay Gnanamuthu on a future project. I wish them all the very best! (No sarcasm, at all).

(Cobra is currently in cinemas)