Massu Engira Maasilamani (2015)

That was an excellent one.

Such a frustrating disappointment

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Suriya and Venkat Prabhu merge in this sort of spooky tale of twists, now both of them needing a proper hit at the BO. Venkat and co announces that there won't be an 'item' number with a scantily clad chick like his previous films.Shortly after that, 'Masss' gets granted an 'U' certificate, you wonder if the director had compensated anything script wise to bring in the family audiences flocking. Songs also seem alright ,almost situational, giving fans and cinema goers unrest on whether this could be one of those experimental movies.Venkat and team answers all doubts and critics in a such a fashion, commercial directors might have started taking notes. Suriya being the refined actor he is, takes center stage acting his heart out on screen. Turning 40 this year, it doesn't add up to his youthful looks and brilliant physique. Suriya's acting prowess seems second to none as he single-handedly holds the film playing a dual role one a grifter and another unexpected surprise role. 200% effort from Suriya, explains why himself and Vikram chase concept driven scripts, they are the only ones ready to put so much effort into one film.Yuvan Shankar Raja also nails big time on the background score whether its the feet tapping 'Conman theme' or the darker, thrilling theme. With the film having some emotional content and sentiments, Yuvan adds some magic touches to compliment them. Songs are quite satisfying on the whole with the added visuals.Speaking of the visuals, R.D. Rajasekhar proves to be the second hero behind the camera with extraordinary lighting and angles for an Indian film. He just might pick up a couple of awards for his contribution.Aiding the camera-work is the nicely done sets by art director Rajeevan, in the opening song as well as in the MJ tribute number.The screenplay presented by the director is pretty new to Indian audience and will be the highlight as Masss is cut almost inch perfect by editor Praveen, serving the right amounts of the action and drama. The movie runs seamlessly from the turning point to interval,pre- climax and the simple ending. Despite that the flashback could have been shorter, as they slowed down Venkat's good narration.Comical add ons by Premji and Sriman, Karunas and Rajendran will be much appreciated as they are subtle and effective. Premji also comes up with perhaps his best act on screen. Heroine roles in a VP movie always are justified but short and cameo orientated. Nayanthara and Pranitha both are gorgeous looking and pushed astray by Suriya's one man army of a a show. Perhaps the director might give more screen time to heroines in his future scripts.Masss is a sure treat for fans of all ages, expect kids to fill up seats in the cinema hall this summer. A rare occasion when a big star's film is out. Clean, well cut, exciting twists, zero hip shaking glamor, kid friendly almost masterpiece. Masss , the 3 S's for; story,screenplay and Suriya. ( 3.75/5 )

This Venkat Prabhu's sixer is a complete one man show both behind as well as on the canvas.While on screen, it's Suriyas' all the way where as the captain, Mr.Prabhu, carried it on his shoulders being behind the camera. Screenplay is very good with a lot of twists all through but was not very gripping in the first half, giving way to unnecessary comic and song sequences. But still, one doesn't get bored of anything as the director incorporated a lot of references in very clever manner with which one is kept busy thinking about it, the best one being in the second half. Production values are really good, the cinematography is just enough to say so. Editing was just okay, could have been better. All the supporting cast did their part. Nayanathara had a very small role though. The film has ample of comedy, frightening situations, action scenes, awesome BGM, setiment and supernatural spirits. It's a complete entertainer which one can watch with their family. That sums it up, this 'Masss' is Suriya & Prabhu's F**king game!

Every time Venkat Prabhu's movie hits the theatres the expectation is to see variety with a bash of youthful energy, and the ace director this time has adopted the most successful genre in the recent times- horror comedy. Both stars Venkat Prabhu and Suriya have been aching to get back to the business after Anjaan bombed at BO and Massu seems to have laid the road, let's dig in and see what's spooky about it.Plot:Horror Comedy is quite an interesting concept and now it's not far away from being deemed as "Done and dusted", well here is VP with a new trick up his sleeve. Considering the genre of the movie, the lesser you know its better. The movie kicks off with Suriya and Premji two bonded-for- life amigos, who thrive on petty robberies. A song, action and a pot boiling chase stops at an accident after which Suriya is bestowed with a super natural power of seeing dead people. Why, what and how he deals with the power is to watch and relish.Suriya and Premji set the pace of movie with light hearted comedy amidst spooky super natural elements in a rather interesting way. A horror movie is never complete without a flashback and a strong backstory. In 'Massu' you do see them after a series of VP's usual topsy turvy twists. When we say Horror, there is a big expectation of a scary road down the lane with some thrills and fear, Masss is more of a "Dealing with spirit's and their emotions" kind of movie and would be a long shot to put it in Horror genre. The first half is about how Suriya blends with his character of Massilamani the Masss, accepts his fear factor and channelize it to make it a living out of it. Once the core plot starts unveiling, the later part of second half does become very predictable and the screenplay chugs along with just the entertainment quotient to make it a fair play.The "other" Suriya is a surprise element and VP touches the character with a Sri Lankan Tamil flavor and kudos to Suriya for pulling it rather brilliantly with the help of Rajasekar's perfect cinematography, not to forget the CGI effects through the movie giving life to the spirits. Nayanthara and Praneetha are the two leading ladies in 'Massu' and they have little to offer to the script and merely play love bugs.VP's movies are always rich in casting, an ensemble cast of biggies, and a few cameos are his signature style. In Masss while Arvind, Jai, Vijay Vasanth appear in a cameo, two other important stars Parthiban and Samuthrakani add their star value. Both of them have meaty roles as a policeman and a politician, good or bad? Well watch and find out.Things that stand out:Suriya's characterization as Masss the hero and as a Srilankan Tamilian is commendable, as with all of VP's movies, he brings out the best out of his heroes. Suriya's dialogue delivery and screen presence catapults the movie forward. To quote a scene, the one in which Suriya feels for his friend Premji in front of Nayanthara is hilarious. VP has been stereotyped as the director who loves party hard movies, a bit of adult humor and all that but in Masss he has steered clear of those elements and has given a wholesome family entertainer with an interesting storyline for the summer. As much as we ridicule Premji's antics we cannot but admire him here for his timely tickles and his funny body language, which make a definite impact in Masss. Yuvan's music is certainly not the best, but the Poochandi and the BGM in the revenge sequences are a definite treat. The Poochandi song starts off in MJ's thriller style and then moves in good spirit, you really have to applaud VP for placing the song at the perfect juncture of the movie. A Special mention to stunt master Silva in the first half, for the car chase and fights made up for the action ingredients required for the commercial flick.Things that could have been better:The film is spanned around 155 minutes, but it's those predictable scenes that make the sequences look even longer than reality. The Editing work in the first half is crisp especially with the one liners and comedy scenes not dragging, but loses steam in the second opening doors for improvement. VP's known for his signature style delivery of his intended storyline, Masss however is little less on the funny quotient and rather relies and thrives heavily on Suriya's super strength and mass factor. As with most of VP's movies the heroines don't have much of a part and a mature actress like Nayanthara could have been used better.Verdict : In all, the movie is a good watch for this late summer to quench your thirst with laughs and occasional surprises.

One of the Most Stylish Trailer I have seen recent times (from a regional movie) and that was the only reason that made me to watch the most awaited Surya Flick Masss. And it did all the damage to me. 155 minutes of unbearable killing in the screen that' what Mass is.. Annoying!!!! Boring!!! Plain!!!.. The songs were boring!!! Background score was below average!!! And the graphics were even dull. Prem G Amaran was boring to the core. I liked only ten minutes of the movie in the second half. Surya as Sakthi's look was good. Just like the father figure in Twilight series. Nayanthara looked beautiful in long frames and her role can be said as an extended cameo. She have nothing to do in the movie. Pranitha Subash was the second heroine and she also has nothing to do. The film has got a long list of actors like Parthipan, Karunas, Sreeman, Samuthirakani, Riyas Khan, etc but totally wasted. I even believed in Venkat Prabhu even though his latest outing was an outdated Biriyani.. But he failed. He should even reconsider his choice of directing the movies.. I have seen so many Absolutely positive reviews in the sites. And I really don't know why they are boosting a near to earth crap movie. Avoidable..No Rating Points since it doesn't deserve any.