Shakti Soundar Rajan’s filmography is mostly a list of films that wants to look like an aspiring Hollywood thriller, but most of them have ended up looking like tacky parodies of those Hollywood biggies. In my opinion, Miruthan and Tik Tik Tik were nothing short of unintentional spoofs, and his new venture, Captain, a project inspired by Predator, is so bad that it can’t even fit in the so bad that its good category of “funny” films.
Somewhere in the North-East, there is this secret area named Sector 42. Humans have not visited that place for a really long time, and when the military went there for a check, the officers were shot dead. The investigation finds that something unknown to humankind resides in that area. Captain Vetriselvan and his team also had a bad experience figuring out the mystery behind that place. Vetri’s efforts, along with his team to find what is behind all the suspicious activity, is what we see in Captain.
Getting inspired by Hollywood sci-fi concepts is never a bad thing. And attaining the production quality of those films might not be practical for the regional industry. But when there is no real effort to use the theme to build something that looks rooted in our setting, it isn’t easy to appreciate that film for trying. Just like Miruthan and Tik Tik Tik, Shakti Soundar Rajan is exploring the Predator concept on a very basic level. Predator wasn’t just a technically solid film. The 1987 film managed to create a sense of fear in the viewer’s mind, and a lot of that had to do with the way it was crafted.
The Predator in Captain is called Minotaur, and frankly, the visual effects are so basic that instead of fear, you will find yourself laughing at the Minotaurs. And guess what? The supposedly dangerous creature engages in fist fights with the military people. The guilt that is driving Captain Vetriselvan for not being able to prove the bravery of his teammate is one of the emotionally moving elements of the story. And the way Shakti Soundar Rajan has written that track is absolutely flat. The biggest facepalm moment in the movie was when they showed a vlog that depicted what actually happened in Sector 42. Even vloggers might say that we are not this dumb to shoot vlogs when there is a creepy creature 5 feet away from us. The flat and flashy lighting used in the cinematography is not helping the film. As I already mentioned, the visual effects were terrible.
Arya, as Captain Vetriselvan, delivers a half-hearted performance, and his dialogue delivery feels very artificial. Simran plays the role of Dr. Keerthi in the film, and I would say anyone could have played that role. Harish Uthaman, Kavya Shetty, Gokulnath, and Raj Bharath played the roles of Vetriselvan’s teammates. Aishwarya Lekshmi is there for a song in the film, and the big suspense around her character is easily guessable.
The two theatrical releases prior to this movie from Shakti Soundar Rajan at least offered some entertainment, perhaps not in the way it intended. I found myself laughing at those films while watching them. Captain is so bland that you might complete the film in 15 minutes when it releases in an OTT platform.
Captain is so bland that you might complete the film in 15 minutes when it releases in an OTT platform.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
