Official Trailer:

When I heard Vidamuyarchi is an official remake of Breakdown my hopes went up. Director Magizh Thirumeni’s earlier movie Thadam was a satisfying thriller. Thadam was a director’s movie. Breakdown is an efficient lean mean thriller. It was a well-made genre movie with interesting plot twists and thrilling action sequences. It kept you on the edge of the seat five minutes into the movie. When I saw Vidamuyarchi is 2h34mts long, I tried to imagine what more interesting material director could have added to Breakdown which clocked 93mts. Sorry to say that the additions drag the movie down rather than helping it. Divorce angle doesn’t add anything to the story. Rather it dents the Kayal (Trisha) character arc. Kayal knew Arjun (Ajith) is still in love with her, he makes it clear in many words, but she still wants the divorce. Towards the climax things become alright once Arjun says I love you again. Prakash, the guy she has an affair with, is forgotten 🤔 For this genre we don’t look for detailed backstory – all we need is a minimal character arc for us to buy into the premise. 14 years backstory of Arjun and Kayal comes out flat with no flavor. It takes time to get to the core plot – the kidnap and its aftermath. The movie never hits a high note. In this genre payback need to standout, sparks need to fly and give a high but here it plays dull and dry.

Movie is not without its positives. There are no fan service scenes. No mass hero introduction. Ajith plays his age. He apologizes and doesn’t pick a fight. Divorce conversation scenes are handled with little class – quiet with no drama. Rakshith (Arjun) and Deepika (Regina Cassandra) combination worked well. Either the flab should have been cut or the added story angles needed better writing to fit this genre. Now it falls in between.