Buckle up for a bumpy ride with Ace, A bizarre mix of a love story, heist, and comedy shot against the backdrop of Tamil Nadu. Arumuga Kumar helms the film with Vijay Sethupathi leading the cast and Rukmini Vasanth debuting as the heroine in Tamil. Despite this film being subpar in just about every way, it does manage to deliver some amount of humor and heart and is interesting enough to be watched over a lazy weekend. Here’s why this bizarre story deserved my 3-star rating. Who knows, this story might just tickle your funny bone.
Mix of Crime and Romance
The adventure of a man with a mysterious past in Malaysia Kickstarts Ace and follows his footsteps as he tries to find a job and better his life. By accident, he stumbles upon Rukmini Vasanth Vasanth’s character and inadvertently falls in love. While trying to save her from a life-threatening experience, a laughably absurd heist is initiated which makes a target of him by a gangster and a corrupt step father cop. Love, loyalty, and devotion are readily balanced against coincidence.
The story does not stray far for the fans of a Tamil crime thriller. If you are a seasoned viewer of Vikram Vedha and Jigarthanda, chances are high that this film has nothing to offer that is different. Having said that, Ace does have some secrets of its own, like the eerie camaraderie that the world plumber shares with the policeman and some pieces of history about the protagonist and which are kept hidden, which keeps the film engrossing despite its foreseen ending.
Vijay Sethupathi Overshadows Ace
Let us now concentrate on the most central character in Ace: Vijay Setlhupathi. He is the ideal jester type because he increases the entertainment quotient of any social engagement – effortless charm with none of his acting brawn being strained. Just like a Kamal Haasan would do in his 1980’s blockbusters such as Guru, it is clear Sethupathi had a blast because he lived up to the role in a way sane people would call hyperactive, so absurdity could be lampooned rather than being lamented. With Rukmini Vasanth, we get some warmth with their romance that shifts the direction of the film towards something more sentimental.
Rukmini Vasanth fits in nicely with Tamil cinema. She is cautious in acting and plays the part of a virtuous heroine who gets entangled in a complex situation. Her facial expressions are good enough to express her emotions, but lip-syncing is the only problem seen, as it seems to have been modified during dubbing and hence there is a bit of discrepancy with the sound. Babloo Prithveeraj and BS Avinash are good as the evil duo in the supporting cast, but Divya Pillai’s role is not established. Yogi Babu’s role is perhaps the most unforgettable of all; he single-handedly converts the laughter meter in the film to high levels with his excellent sense of humor, and all his scenes are sure to make the audience laugh out loud.
An Unbalanced Combination of Genres
Ace is an excellent movie which combines all the genres into one—crime thriller, romantic drama, and comedy. The movie, however, is not entirely one of the genres. Lacking focus, the movie turns into a blunt roller-coaster ride which takes an abrupt turn from serious to zany without warning. The first half is too romantic and slow and has some formulaic moments—every single moment is a missing piece of a jigsaw puzzle. The second half is better in the sense that the plot has more twists and turns and is quicker-paced, but it also doesn’t touch the quirky heights that it tries to reach.
Comfortable with straightforward plots, the movie eschews heavy-handed plotmaking, which could annoy some viewers. But it compensates for the lack of explanation through its light nature and humorous, at times unintentional, undertones. It’s the kind of movie to view with a bucket of popcorn, not dissecting plots with a notebook.
Why It’s A Worthy Watch
Ace is a middle-of-the-road 3 out of five, unfairly reviled, but for Tamil film buffs and Vijay Sethupathi, entertaining. The offbeat tone of the film is aided by the near-farcical simplicity of the heist satirizing police and bank security. Ace is the right pick for those looking for light entertainment on a low-stakes ride with excellent performances and humor. To read more about it, its review can be accessed on Times of India. If you are an ardent Tamil film fan or in the mood to watch a light-hearted film during the weekend, Ace manages to keep you hooked to some extent.
