The film is surprisingly understated. It steers clear of massy “hero” moments, and there’s a lot of clear, clean thinking in the writing.
Spoilers ahead…
You can read the full review on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/hero-movie-review-ps-mithran-sivakarthikeyan-kalyani-priyadarshan-arjun-sarja-abhay-deol-baradwaj-rangan/
In PS Mithran’s Hero, Sivakarthikeyan plays a #90sKid, and the screenplay is suffused with the spirit of an iconic #90sFilm: Gentleman. Shankar’s career-cementing blockbuster was about the victim of a corrupt education system, and he strikes back as a vigilante. Slap a mask on a vigilante (i.e., someone who delivers his own extra-judicial brand of justice), and we get a… superhero. That’s what Sakthi, the hero of Hero, dreams of becoming. He grows up, instead, to become a forger of certificates, and — like the protagonist of Gentleman — he gets a big, fat sentimental flashback. But this time, Meera (Kalyani Priyadarshan) hears him out patiently and dismisses it as a sob story. Every wrongdoer has a “the System made me do this” justification, she scoffs. That’s the first sign that Hero isn’t going to be just another superhero saga.
Continued at the link above.
Copyright ©2019 Film Companion.
Baradwaj Rangan 
Isai
December 20, 2019
“It’s Albert Einstein’s quote: “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
BR, there is no proof that Albert Einstein ever said that. Quote investigator says–“As far as anyone can tell, Einstein never said it” and also explains how it could have originated. Just FYI.
http://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/04/06/fish-climb/
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Srinivas R
December 20, 2019
Was it too preachy? I was fearing that from the trailers. Your review suggests it may not be so bad.
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brangan
December 21, 2019
Srinivas R: “The film is too talky, and a lot of the time, we seem to be listening to variations of the same ideas.”
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KS
December 22, 2019
@ above comment: I felt the same about Velaikaran, although nobody else seem to think that way..
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jaga_jaga
December 23, 2019
BR is too kind to this movie probably because the movie’s core resonated with his career trajectory – studying something and becoming something else?
I watched it today, and found it to be trashy – on so many levels.
First of all, people need to realize that the mainstream education system throughout the world (not just India) is designed for people deemed to be average – this is a direct reflection of the fact that the society in which we live in is mostly populated with average people (there is nothing good or bad about this – just a fact). Anyone heard about the normal curve? That is an outstanding model for how our world works. And educators around the world (including our country) are doing a good job herein (although things can always improve).
Secondly, there is severe misrepresentation of what it entails to make a discovery. Take the vehicle running on salt water. Seems to use some kind of a fuel cell model. Electrolysis is one of the key ideas therein. But if it were so easy, why is not in the market?
Just because cruel corporate honchos are against disruptive innovation? Let us even assume it to be true for now – that companies throughout the world are horrible. But what about the genuine scientific challenges. Do people understand the idea of “oxygen overpotential”? Do people understand how unsafe fuel cells can be? The exothermicity associated with water evolution? The Director does such a crass job of hiding all these nuances, and he makes it look like a child’s play. Ditto with this nano-purification idea, same for gravity lighting, and so on.
Lastly, it could give a very bad message to young kids out there – that having a passion and being different is all it takes to be successful. No Sir, to be successful one needs to grind it out. Deal with things you’re not passionate about, too.
Life is not so easy. Innovations are hard. One needs to appreciate how much effort goes into the schooling system, into building a society of average and good human beings.
Overall, a pointless movie which grossly undermines the viewer intelligence. I sincerely hope Tamil movie viewers (especially those raising young kids) don’t take this seriously.
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Vignesh
December 23, 2019
This is just Murugadoss’ “corporate demonization” simplified and realized to, frankly, silly extremes. The villain seemed too cartoonishly evil and the gadgetry is explained away as the handiwork of genius kids. Plus, the suicide of the girl was telegraphed way too early. You know there is a Shankeresque tragedy around the corner.
I sorely wished the film had dwelled a bit more on the excellent Azhagam Perumal’s relationship with his son. Could have made the final scenes so much more effective. Plus, where was this instinct for understatement and restraint in the scene where all the villagers wear masks and the gadgets solve all the villagers’ problems en masse?
Or maybe I am reading too much into what probably works best as a children’s movie embracing your creative side and their guardian angel?
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Vinod
December 24, 2019
jaga_jaga: I agree with you on almost all the points about the film you have raised, especially the way innovations are shown and the fact that you need more than just passion to be successful. But I simply can’t see how one can accept our mark-oriented rote learning as good, especially in Tamilnadu which is what this movie focuses on. If you are good at memorising, you can mostly come out of school and college with flying colours. Every year, the media gives wide coverage to 12th standard final exam results, with photographs of students who have scored the highest of marks! No one cares where those top-scorers end up in their adult life. Just as this film shows, there do exist a sizable number of schools and colleges that strive for highest mark percentages from their students to compete in the business market of education. Government schools are pathetic and private schools are minting money. Educational institutions in India that show genuine interest in education are very few and far between. Youtube channels like LMES would not have arisen if our official educators did a good job.
I could go on and on, but let me give just one instance, from my engineering background, of how bad things are. As everyone knows, Computer Science and Engineering is a discipline in most Engineering colleges in Tamilnadu. But how many are aware that what is taught is mostly just Computer Engineering? The science behind computers is either completely missing from the syllabus or is taught in the worst way possible. This becomes blatantly evident when you see the subject that B.E Compsci students usually find the toughest of all. It is Compiler Design, a subject that requires a strong theoretical background. If you learn the science properly, compiler design can be one of the easiest subjects in the discipline. The lack of scientific background affects each and every student alike, average or not.
Students can afford to be average in any country, but even average students need above average educators and, more importantly, a much, much better education system than what we have in our country till date.
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Anon
December 27, 2019
BR you are too kind. The move is trashy..to say the least. Yes, our education system is flawed. It is also nowhere close to where this movie would like us to believe it is. Ugh..
And does it offer any workable solution ?
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Jaga_Jaga
January 2, 2020
@Vinod – Pardon my late reply! Happy new year. Rote learning is definitely a systematic issue, not just within TN State Board, but also with CBSE, other state boards etc. Even in countries like USA/Finland – with a much better educational system on paper than us, apparently not focusing on rote, the people who come out of the system are mostly average, only!
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