'Hitler' movie review: This thriller is neither original nor engaging
London: The trailer for Hitler revealed that the protagonist, seemingly a good man, doubles as a masked vigilante. I expected this to serve as the foundation for an evolving storyline, introducing fresh twists throughout the runtime.
Instead, the entire first half of the film is dedicated to setting the stage. At the interval—typically a moment meant to surprise the audience—the filmmakers simply reiterate what was already revealed in the trailer.
This supposed “twist” does little to shock, as it is a fact already established. The rest of the film becomes a drawn-out wait to learn the hero’s motivations—something the prologue already hints at, leaving little room for genuine intrigue or surprise.
In the first half of Hitler, we follow two parallel storylines. Minister Rajavelu’s black money, intended for election bribery, is stolen, and his men are murdered, prompting DC Shakthi to investigate the case.
Simultaneously, Selva, who has recently moved to Chennai, embarks on a romance with Sarah after a less-than-charming meet-cute.
The romantic subplot between Selva and Sarah aims for a dreamy vibe, with Sarah being portrayed as smart and sensible, delivering lines like, “Nee oru aambala, nallavana epdi iruka mudium,” when Selva claims to be a good man.
Despite her supposed scepticism and caution, Sarah’s decision to love Selva feels impulsive and convenient. After just a few days of hesitation, she reciprocates his feelings simply because he volunteers for a social cause. Had the romance been given more emotional depth and logic, the extensive world-building in the first half might not have felt as monotonous.
As Hitler unravels its central mystery in the second half, the film takes a major hit on logical coherence, while predictability only adds to its list of shortcomings. For instance, during the investigation, CCTV footage clearly reveals one of the culprits (Vivek Prasanna), yet the police never made an effort to identify or track him. Instead, they blindly follow a suspect based solely on Shakthi’s hunch.
The film demands an extreme suspension of disbelief. In one scene, Shakthi even calls Selva a “brilliant man.” What follows is the film portraying Selva as a multifaceted individual—banker, civil engineer, skilled marksman, and stunt-trained fighter—without providing a plausible explanation for his diverse skill set or how he manages to evade detection.
The narrative suggests he has support from certain individuals, but this is not adequately explored or justified within the storyline. In trying to blend mystery with vigilante action, Hitler sacrifices logic, leaving audiences detached and unimpressed.
Now, addressing the film’s predictability. The most familiar template in a vigilante film follows a protagonist driven to vigilantism after facing great injustice. Hitler employs this template without any attempts to bring novelty.
The film’s weakest link is perhaps the resolution of the cop-vs-criminal chase—meant to be its driving force—where the police officer has a sudden change of heart after understanding the vigilante’s motives.
This predictable turn can be seen coming from miles away. What starts as a checklist of vigilante tropes extends to unoriginal character archetypes. We see the naive girlfriend, affected by the hero’s actions, and the idealistic politician helping fight the corrupt one.
Even the investigation led by DC Shakthi lacks creativity; the answers conveniently fall into his lap, yet he still struggles to apprehend the criminal. Despite its relatively crisp 2-hour runtime, Hitler’s lack of novelty and reliance on overused plot devices make it feel never-ending.
Having said that, familiar tropes and logical inconsistencies are the lesser of the film’s problems. For instance, the hero’s entry song,
Tappasu, serves no real purpose, while an unnecessary ‘item song’ is thrown in towards the end. What’s worse? The makers tried to innovate with said song by making Aishwarya Dutta perform the Maharashtrian folk dance form, Lavani, instead of the usual Tamil Kuthu dance.
The film’s ideas about dictatorship have potential but are explored very superficially. In a film that could’ve dissected the horrors of dictatorship, Hitler ironically subjects us to the tyranny of cliches.
Director: Dana SA
Cast: Vijay Antony, Gautham Menon, Charan Raj, Riya Suman
