Leo Review: Parthiban is the best character so far in LCU; Vijay’s portrayal is superlative

Leo, Thalapathy Vijay, and Lokesh Kanagaraj's second collaboration is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated films this year in Indian cinema.

Hyderabad: Leo, Thalapathy Vijay, and Lokesh Kanagaraj’s second collaboration is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated films this year in Indian cinema. This is because of the craze Lokesh and his films have with the madness he has already created with LCU, Lokesh Cinematic Universe. So the film lovers are very excited to see Vijay stepping into the LCU as Leo, and here comes the day we all have been waiting for with the release of Leo in theatres today. Now, let us look at the review of Leo.

Leo, on its very first step, is completely a character-driven film rather than one that is story-driven like Lokesh’s previous films, Kaithi and Vikram. In the earlier two films, we experienced a wide range of events in which multiple characters were involved in multiple things going around, and then Lokesh discussed something that his lead character tackled. In Kaithi, Dilli enters a crime zone he has no relation to. In Vikram, Karnan handles a mission for his son and for a drug-free society where many oppositions exist. But Leo is a completely character-driven one, with Leo Das (played by Thalapathy Vijay) getting transformed from the key role of the evil world to a family man far away from everything he had in the past.

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Lokesh Kanagaraj is very good at writing screenplays. Though the second half of his films is mostly action-packed, his first portions always have a solid screenplay. Leo too falls in that way. Lokesh introduces a rough part of the crime world, first with Mysskin and Sandy getting good roles. On the other hand, Parthiban (Vijay) gets greatly established in his own family world, where he runs a coffee shop, does animal rescues, and enjoys his personal space. The first setup of engagement comes when Parthiban becomes a murderer, taking the lives of five criminals. Then in the second setup, Parthiban is mistaken for Leo Das by the criminal world. But actually, we all know that Parthiban is Leo Das. Still, Lokesh engages you with his screenplay in the first half, and when it comes to the second half, it’s all action-packed. Yes, Leo has a flaw in the writing, and that’s definitely the flashback episode. There could be a better plot to blend it with the character transformation.

When it comes to making, Lokesh Kanagaraj mastered the production with a mind-blowing visual contribution from the cinematographer Manoj Paramahamsa. All the action episodes are shot so well, and they are top-notch in quality and output. The stunt choreographer Anbariv and the editor Philomin Raj are superior in their works too. Anirudh killed it once again with his soundtrack, particularly the use of the Badass track, which is phenomenal. So with this kind of high production and technical team, Lokesh really played a marvellous action game to deliver a splendid experience to the audience.

Let us list a few scenes in the film that make it a top-grade one: the fight between Parthiban and Hyena, the coffee shop murder scene, Leo’s face revealing in the factory, the car chase fight, and the house trap fight.

Leo has the best contributions from every actor. Thalapathy Vijay is at his ultimate best in Leo in recent years after Mersal. It can be so strongly said that Parthiban (Vijay) is the best character (in terms of acting) so far in the LCU. Trisha gets a full-length role in Leo, which usually doesn’t happen with Lokesh films. Sanjay Dutt and Arjun are good in their antagonist roles. Gautham Menon plays a prominent role. Sandy’s mad smile is interesting. Madonna Sebastian gets a little but very important time on screen. And lastly, the entire theatre erupts for George Maryan, and you know why? (because of his past with Dilli).

Kamal Haasan’s voiceover (phone call) leads to either Vikram 2 or Leo 2 in the end. It would have been much better if Lokesh got him as a little cameo, which is the trend of the current times.

So, Leo is superior to Kaithi and Vikram in terms of its production and the shaping of the lead character, Parthiban. But the writing could be much better, considering it is part of the LCU. If it can be seen as an individual film, it really feels nice to see some shift in Lokesh’s writing to tell the story of a common family man leaving his crime world behind.