#Retro Review

#Retro

2025- Tamil

Starring : Suriya, Pooja Hegde, Joju George, Prakash Raj , Nasser , Vidhu , Jayaram & Karunakaran

Directed by Karthik Subbaraj

Plot : Paari Vel Kannan, a feared gangster who decides to renounce violence for the sake of his lover Rukmani, finds himself unwillingly drawn into a journey where he is seen as the prophesied savior of an oppressed clan. As he battles external forces and his inner conflicts, questions arise—who is Paari really? What is his true connection to the ancient prophecy known as The One? And did he ultimately reunite with Rukmani forms the rest of the crux of the film.

Performance wise, Suriya is terrific as Paari. He has done a fabulous job in each and every phase that the character goes through. The Arc Transformation was very believable. Pooja Hegde as Rukmani is great but unfortunately her character is underwritten and doesn't land the needed impact. Special appreciation as she dubbed for herself. Joju George as Suriya's Boss is good but the character is written in a very typical way so unfortunately Joju's performance is limited to the stereotypical negative role. Vidhu on the other hand as Secondary Antagonist is introduced with a lot of pomp but again the character's over the top & a bit eccentric performance makes this character look very caricaturish. Nasser is wasted. Prakash Raj in a very limited role does what the small role expects him to. Jayaram's Character arc was good and decent performance. Karunakaran was wasted completely without even a dialogue. Shriya was fantastic on screen in Love Detox song.

Technically, the film is strong. Thanks to a colourful yet brillaint cinematography by Shreyaas Krishna. Each and Every Frame looks very rich. And the next pillar of this film is Santhosh Narayanan. There are multiple songs in the film and everything some way or the other compliments the proceedings. Special mention to Kannadi Poove & Kanimaa song. Editing by Shafique Mohammad could've been a much more faster and sharper especially in the Second Half. The Entire Kanimaa Single Take Sequence was fantastic on screen and its Brilliant.

The First Half of the film entirely focuses on setting up the characters and the situations. The First Half focuses mainly on Two Chapters : Love & Laughter. The Love Chapter mainly sets the romantic angle of the leads Paari & Rukmani. Suriya and Pooja look gorgeous in this chapter and the Kanimaa portion works as the highlight. Then the film moves into next Chapter Laughter. While unfortunately this entire stretch seems Underwhelming for some reason, it is one of the main chapters that work as the bridge between Love & War Chapters of this film. The Pre Interval portion of the film is terrific which is written and stagged in a fantastic manner.

Unfortunately the Second Half of the film where all the problems arise. The film wanders aimlessly. The entire second half revolves around the War chapter. The Set-up is solid but the haphazard writing and unfocused narration makes the second half drag like anything. This comes as the film's major negative, the tonal shift. The film itself is confused whether it wants to be a Romantic Drama or Action Drama or something on the lines of Political Drama with Prophecy Saviour trope. The Tonal Inconsistency is jarring and emotionally disconnects the audience. While there are some brillaint symbolisms and political statements that the film tries to make, due to the Emotional Inconsistency , the emotions do not land properly and make the film distant and not able to root for any character. Also there are Two Antagonists Joju and Vidhu but unfortunately none of them pose as a great threat to the Protagonists. While there are some interesting Revelations, it is held back for the last 45 mins which actually makes that portions interesting and tries to redeem itself but underlying feels like an last minute thought. The Diversion and the Ending seemed very convenient.

Coming to Writer Director Karthik Subbaraj, he has taken a very complex plot and decided to build it as a multi genre film. KS promoted it as saying its a Love Story but actually it is much more. Well it has baseline that starts from a Love Story but it focuses on much more bigger themes like finding one's purpose of life (Dhammam) and standing up for what is right and even talks about Monarchy/Democratic way of Leadership. Unfortunately the problem is , it all feels overly stuffed into what could've been a simple sweet Romantic Drama film. While Suriya is terrific in form , the Tonal Inconsistency and the haphazard second half makes the film difficult for audience to get connected with. The Climax also feels very similar to KS previous film Jigarthanda Double X which can work as both a Positive or Negative. Is it Karthik's Bad Film ? Absolutely Not . Is it Suriya's Best Film (Performance wise) : Yes on a performance pov yes. Retro is definitely not a bad film by any means but not a great film like Jigarthanda or Mahaan . It has everything that JT or Mahaan had but still lacks something that made those two a class apart.

Highlights :

1)Kanimaa Single Take Sequence

2)Pre Interval Portion 

3)Love Detox Song

4)Climax Fight and The One Song Placement 

Overall: Karthik Subbaraj's Retro is an overly ambitious Romantic Drama that tries to be all at once but due to Tonal Inconsistency and meandering writing, the film fails to reach its full potential. Suriya shines in this Average film and shoulders it entirely.

Rating : 2.75-3/5

Televison Rights : Sun TV

Digital Rights : Netflix