Devara Review: Engaging action drama let down by ineffective second half
Devara Movie Rating: 3 Stars
Watched Devara movie in Cinema. Let’s focus on the complete details, story, positive/negatives and at last my personal view on this movie.
Cast: Jr NTR, Saif Ali Khan, Janhvi Kapoor, Shruti Marathe, Prakash Raj, Srikanth, Shine Tom Chacko, Narain, Kalaiyarasan and Murali Sharma
Director: Koratala Siva
Release Date: 27th September 2024 in cinema
Story: Set in the fictional town of Ratnagiri, a coastal village near India’s Southern borders the film follows Devara (Jr NTR), Bhaira (Saif Ali Khan), Rayappa (Srikanth) and others who head their respective villages. They’re descendants of a warrior caste, who later took up arms against the British. Their elders never allowed enemy ships to land at their shores. They became Robin Hoods of the sea, looting from the foreigners and supplying the poor.
The present generation have become smugglers due to no source of money as outside world never asked about them. They assist a corrupt politician Muruga (Murali Sharma) in smuggling goods from ships. Unknown of what they are smuggling both along with their group continue the operation until they encounter the truth of harmful weapons involved in wars carried with their help.
While Devara comes to realize that what they’re doing is evil, he revolts against his fellow villagers. He challenges them that he will never let them take to seas again for criminal activities. He opts to discontinue and takes an oath to stop the evil business, this results into fallout with Bhaira. He mysteriously disappears and Bhaira rules Ratnagiri and still determined to find and kill Devara.
In contrast to him his son Vara (Jr NTR) is innocent and vulnerable. When Bhaira incites the villagers to again take to the life of crime, Vara surprisingly joins hands with them. Why does Vara choose to ally with his father’s enemy? Why is he betraying Devara’s legacy? Does he harbour resentment towards his father? Where is Devara now, and is he still alive? The film promises to unravel these mysteries as the story unfolds.
Positives
1. Performances
2. Cinematography
3. Background Music
4. First Half
5. Climax
Negatives
1. Length
2. Screenplay in 2nd half
3. Songs
4. Story
5. Direction
Durgesh Tiwary’s View: When I watched the trailer of this film planned to watch this movie in cinemas as loved the action sequences and background music. Yudhra is struggling with anger issues and is assigned an undercover mission to bring down a powerful drug syndicate headed by Firoz and his son Shafiq. He accepts the responsibility as he wants to exact revenge against Firoz for his parent’s death.
Devara story is promising. Screenplay is simple and effective till a certain point. The narrative is captivating in the first half, building the story and keeping viewers hooked to know in detail. The film holds a superb combination of cinematography and VFX. The scene where Vara rides a shark at the end alone is worth the price of the ticket. The sea looks real and the underwater fight sequences are effectively choreographed. The movie is basically one long set of fight sequences intercut with some emotional and some romantic scenes. It’s all loud and over-the-top but ultimately entertaining. NTR like always delivers an intense performance. He is simply flawless in the action episodes. His partnership with Anirudh’s music is that could save Devara from getting lost in the sea. Anirudh’s background music pushed the sequences up many a time. Fear Song gave the much-needed high moments. The cinematography is excellent in parts. The Ayudha pooja fight sequence and the interval action massacre were shot very well.
The flat storytelling by the director and the typical blocks he used made the plot predictable. With a powerhouse actor like NTR as his lead, the director could not bring out highly intense or thrilling moments from the movie. NTR’s performance tries to save the movie from the director’s monotonous narrative at times. The second half takes off on a slow pace and the heroine episode is strictly limited to a few scenes. Jahnvi Kapoor’s debut in Telugu garnered big hype but her role did not live up to the expectations. The over-the-top side characters around Thangam make those scenes more uninteresting. The surprise element intended by the director falls prey to his own narrative and it too was predictable. The line taken by the director to induce fear in the fearless is good, but the story that gives a reason for the protagonist is not strong enough to match the concept. There were many dragged scenes until the pre climax. The climax episode is alright though the graphics could be still better. The cliffhanger in Devara Part 1 could be the director’s weakest thought.
Overall movie is not a great film but not a poor film either. It is visually stunning but narratively underwhelming. Jr NTR’s solid performance, combined with high production values and Anirudh’s score, makes it worth watching. However, the predictable plot in the second half may disappoint those expecting a more thrilling cinematic experience. My view on this movie Recommended.
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