VIP 2 Review - A light commercial fare 

VIP 2 takes off with Raghuvaran (Dhanush) in his post-marriage phase of his life still doting for his mom and not letting go of his deeply sentimental ways despite all his success. As expected from a sequel, rest of the movie goes through the ups and downs of Raghuvaran. There is no surprise that the story is loyal to the template of first part that proved to be a blockbuster. VIP 2 is roughly around 130 minutes long, which is surprisingly short for a commercial movie.

What works and what doesn't?

The second part clearly falls short of expectations compared to the first part in multiple fronts. There are only a handful of things that are as good as the first part. Dhanush as the protagonist is effortlessly entertaining with his acting, voice modulation and dancing abilities. Dhanush serves as the only pillar carrying the entire weight of the movie. Dhanush scores also in writing department with casual one-liners and commercial punch dialogues. Kajol is an interesting casting decision and she performs her part well as an executive and delivers a decent performance in matching up to Dhanush. Kajol’s dubbing in Tamil didn’t bring out the essence of the character. 

The style consistency has been maintained between first and second parts even though the director switch happened from Velraj to Soundarya Rajnikanth. The strong influence of Dhanush in the writing and directorial departments is evident. The unconventional ending may be a bit disappointing for action lovers. But, the writing team has taken a somewhat risky decision to settle the disputes between the two lead characters sitting across the table over a wine and locked up inside the office. As a result, lack of heightened drama during climax portions often seen in Tamil movies is missing in VIP2.

Casting

Except for Dhanush and Samuthirakani, rest of the characters lack energy and presence witnessed in the first part. Saranya as mother was the anchor character who provided the motivation in the first part. Her presence was sorely missed. The love angle with Amala Paul was missing the spark, despite her excellent acting once again. The emotional connect in the first part could not be recreated as new attempts were not made. Vivek doesn’t go overboard with Thanga Pushpam. It was not laugh out loud funny. Director Balaji’s presence in the story doesn’t pack the necessary punch. Surprisingly, Bigg Boss fame Raiza is duly noticed by audience.

Music

Sean Roldan’s songs and background music could not match the brilliance of Anirudh, who had set the bar way high for anybody, including himself, to surpass. Some of the better scenes in VIP 2 had to rely quite heavily on VIP background tracks. The interval portions leverages the VIP title song track prominently without any remorse.  Due to commercial pressures, Sean Roldan may have gone a bit overboard with background tracks at least in comedy portions. Sameer Thahir who is known for his camera work in Bangalore Days (Malayalam) has done what is sufficient for a commercial movie.  Also, Thahir has matched the style.

Final word

VIP 2 passes as a light commercial fare and Dhanush’s exceptional acting despite all the familiar scene, multiple flashback recalls and unavoidable comparisons you are bound to make.

Rating : 2.75 out of 5