Retro movie review: Suriya shines like the sun again but Karthik Subbaraj’s film is an uneven ride

Retro: What is the story?

Paarivel Kannan aka Paari (Suriya), who was raised like a son by gangster Thilakan (Joju George), is his father’s right-hand man till he decides to decamp with the entire lot of stolen ‘goldfish’ one day. In the midst of this, Paari is all set to tie the knot with his lady love, veterinarian Rukmini (Pooja Hegde) whom he has promised that he will give up his gangster life and lead a straight one with her. But this peace is short lived, as an angry Thilakan disrupts Paari’s wedding demanding the stole goldfish back and causes mayhem. Paari is then forced to take up arms once again and lands up in jail while Rukku aka Rukmini disappears from his life. In the five years that Paari is in jail, a despondent Paari desperately searches for Rukku and eventually finds her on an island off Andamans.

Meanwhile, Thilakan is still baying for blood and searching for his goldfish. He chases Paari to Black Island. But this island has its own set of woes with a tyrannical Mirasdar (Nasser) and his son Michael ruling it. What happens when Paari lands on Black Island? Does he win back Rukku? How does he deal with Thilakan and Michael who are after him?

The good and the bad aspects of Retro

One of the most exciting aspects about this film was the fact that director Karthik Subbaraj and Suriya would be working together for the first time. Thus, Retro piqued a lot of interest among viewers. As expected, Karthik Subbaraj has penned a story that showcases Suriya’s strengths – action and romance – though not in equal measure. Like we have seen in numerous other films, Retro is the story of a gangster who tries to give it all up for love. Does he succeed is the question.

The first half of the film sets up the story well with Paari, Thilakan and Rukku and the 15-minute action, and dance routine here is superbly executed by the director and actors. In fact, this is one of the major highlights of the film that displays the technical brilliance of the crew. It’s when we move past this to the comedy track and Black Island narration that the screenplay starts to get really choppy.

The second half gets on to a totally different track with the introduction of the Jada Muni mystery and the Rubber Cult. It’s here that the movie falters and becomes somewhat tiresome as it doesn’t seamlessly connect with the rest of the story. Karthik Subbaraj has probably anticipated this which is why he has divided the film into chapters (a la Quentin Tarantino) like War and Cult. Yea, Subbaraj inserts retro aspects into the movie be it in the way of music, the hippie culture, use of cults, or costumes and looks and this is a nice added touch. But eventually it’s not a gripping action film, given that it has too many tracks, that one expected at the beginning.

All the wins

Suriya has outdone himself in this film, as he does in all his films. Whether it is the action or the comedy, the Kollywood star excels and the scenes between him and Pooja are very sincere and authentic. For Pooja Hegde, the role of Rukku is one of the best in her career and she has really aced it. The emotional moments are real and one can empathise with her. Malayalam actor Joju George displays his talent once again in the role of Thilakan while the actor who essays Michael has a done a fine job too. Prakash Raj appears in a cameo as does music director Santosh Narayan.

Speaking about the music, Santosh Narayan has delivered a thumping BGM that elevates the film, especially the action scenes. The song Kannima is already a major ear worm and whistle-inducing in theatres.

Retro, on the whole, is a good effort by director Karthik Subbaraj but the choppy screenplay, with too many tracks, prevents it from being a great one. Suriya shines in the film as does Pooja Hegde and this love track is what keeps us rooting for the two as well as Retro.