Jailer movie review & film summary (2023) – Roger Ebert

A full home screamed all through final night time’s Instances Sq. premiere of “Jailer,” a grisly and comedic motion Indian thriller starring Rajinikanth, the marquee-topping, Tamil-speaking septuagenarian and self-advertised “Tremendous Star.” Or no less than, everyone alive in that auditorium appeared to be cheering for Rajinikanth.

Rajinikanth (“Robotic,” “Kaala”) is now 72 years previous. His “Jailer” character, a retired cop and jail warden named Muthu “Tiger” Pandian, has a sassy younger grandson and a knack for murdering villains. Beheadings and deadly stabbings are a Muthu specialty. He additionally has an enormous community of shady previous mates, performed by a deep bench of Indian character actors and fellow main males, who assist Muthu kill the unhealthy males who threaten his household.

In “Jailer,” the unhealthy males are led by Varman (Vinayakan), a manic crime boss who kidnaps Muthu’s grownup son Arjun (Vasanth Ravi), additionally a cop, and threatens to behead Arjun’s grandson Rithvik (Rithvik Jothi Raj), an aspiring YouTube star, whereas Rithvik and Muthu get ice cream. Varman’s males taunt Muthu by doing a grotesque dance of pleasure on the street. He retaliates by hacking at a few of them with a big blade: “After a degree I don’t discuss, I slash.” In case you come to “Jailer” for something however Rajinikinath, you’ll in all probability depart disenchanted.

“Jailer” concurrently is and isn’t a typical Rajinikanth car. It’s extra self-conscious and extra dedicated than a few of his different current autos, so far as reconciling the tonal whiplash banked into the Indian cinema’s kitchen sink, mass-audience-minded masala type. The makers of “Jailer” toggle between emotional registers with confidence and alarming frequency, like each time Muthu helps Rithvik movie a gardening program for his YouTube channel, after which resumes his bloody feud with Varman. In a musical montage that solely is sensible after a long-delayed plot twist, Muthu and Rithvik take pleasure in one another’s firm whereas an acoustic guitar performs and a singer paints a sunny image of a person who, in Rithvik, additionally sees “my chief … my son.” In the meantime, Arjun tortures considered one of Varman’s males, and likewise orders a fellow cop to not give water to his blood-soaked sufferer. The acoustic guitarist by no means takes a break.

The persistent extremity of Varman’s character-defining violence additionally offers previous man Rajinikanth a mandate to be cruel. It’s typically even touching to see him match Varman since, as our antihero’s theme track boasts, “He’ll make your subsequent era dance to his tunes.” Rajinikanth is probably uncommon when in comparison with, say, a Sylvester Stallone or a Steven Seagal, in that he nonetheless attracts the type of younger idolatrous filmmakers who all appear obsessive about making the now biologically mature star look eternally iconic. A good friend who noticed “Jailer” in Los Angeles final night time joked about what number of instances Rajinikanth enters a brand new room with dramatic aptitude. In Instances Sq., every new slow-motion flip to the digital camera was met with screams. So had been Rajinikanth’s lusty motion scenes, particularly when he lastly notices Varman’s barrels of sulphuric acid.