Vishal Menon reviews Coolie, the Tamil action thriller starring Rajinikanth in the lead role. Directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj and produced by Kalanithi Maran under Sun Pictures, this film also features Nagarjuna, Soubin Shahir, Upendra, Shruti Haasan, Sathyaraj, and Aamir Khan in key roles. In this detailed review for The Hollywood Reporter India, Vishal examines how the film has shades of vintage Rajinikanth and lighter fun moments but ultimately becomes a mega-starized disappointment that crumbles under the weight of two superstars - Rajinikanth and Lokesh Kanagaraj. He discusses how the film feels like an unnecessarily convoluted rewrite of Baasha, with Lokesh trying to imitate his own directorial style in a way that has become predictable after eight years and six films.
Vishal highlights how Lokesh Kanagaraj's filmmaking patterns have become formulaic, noting his use of Chekhov's gun devices and recycled elements from his previous films like Kaithi, Vikram, Master, and Leo. He critiques how the film tries desperately to be both another Rajinikanth film and another Lokesh film simultaneously, following the towering shadow of the Baasha formula while regurgitating tricks from the superstar playbook. The review covers the film's convoluted plot with too many twists, subplots, and characters that create a web of lies where everything stops making sense, comparing it to the structure of 1990s Abbas-Mustan movies. Vishal notes that while Rajinikanth's Deva comes alive better in lighter moments than action blocks, the film suffers from convenient writing and lacks the organic whistle-worthy moments Lokesh used to create. He concludes that ironically for a film titled Coolie, both the director struggles under the weight of the film's superstar and appears burdened by his own fan following.
