S. Shankar directorial '2.0' starring two acting powerhouse performers Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar as Protagonist vs Antagonist resp. has done the trick when it comes to a massy entertainer but to start with we personally believe that the makers could have added a no logic disclaimer to it as there is hardly any to follow. The beginning scene is where Dr. Rajan aka Akshay Kumar climbs of the network tower and suicides and the very next day what takes place is an unexpected phenomenon way beyond science taking the liberty of the fiction indeed. Every phone from Chennai and its vicinity is pulled towards the sky by an unknown force, creating havoc in the city; some of the scenes are hilarious.
Telecom minister played by Kalabhavan Shajohn who has a word with Kaizaad Kotwal aka Ranjit Lulla a corporate kingpin and a strong Oligarch merely a CEO of a telecom network wants thing normal again. Now the lakhs of mobile phones operate miraculously and followed by murders of the culprits one by one. We have a ministry meeting conducted by Adil Hussain as one of the ministers lined up with officers and associates; and Dr. Vaseegaran (Rajinikanth) who recommends the need of Chitti in this trajectory situation. Cell phones flying is followed by some worthy imagery graphics on-screen but at some places went overboard spoiling the narrative which wasn't really required. Now the best part about the film is Dr. Rajan aka Akshay Kumar's backstory which has a lot of conviction to it. He plays an Ornithologist (the person who study birds) and his look as a white-bearded old man suits his character as well which becomes a cherry on the cake as his narrative connects us emotionally.
An expert in bird behaviour finds that the competition in telecom world leads to the expansion of many network towers all over and these operators who are catering the service on high frequency is damaging the neurological functions of birds. He is a helpless old man shouting save birds slogans outside malls and commercial places. After all his hard work fails to stop these corporate powerhouses and a man in vain Dr. Rajan commits suicide and here is when the Fifth force arrives.
Chitti is back to stop him and his entry scene is the most delightful whistleblowing moment from the entire film. Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar's face-off was a joy to watch and every time they collided whistles were in loud decibels. Performance wise every supporting cast played their character convincingly. Amy Jackson plays a humanoid named Mala adding on to one more creation in the book of Dr. Vaseegaran. She is barely seen as a helper in the entire film.
The action sequences are high on graphics, and literally too much of it. Although the climax of 2.0 is the most rushed sequence as it turns out to be a wannabe Transformers to end with a giant robotic fight to close the film. Mini robots which they call 3.0 riding on pigeons was the lame part of all. Sudhanshu Pandey has a minuscule of cameo to play. Adil Hussain as the minister was believable. While it was all a Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar show.
A.R. Rahman's music nurtured the film and the audiences would make more of it with a top-notch cinematic experience. VFX is an area which Bollywood needs to work on hard as the climax scenes were literally below average as some high-end video games like Pes or the Rise of the Tomb Raider had the better graphics. Cinematography by Nirav Shah adds on to this visually appealing film and making few sequences enticing that we barely blink our eyes. The film is magnificent, beguiling and truly entertaining if and only if logic is completely ignored while watching it.
Overall, the effort is sensed as the audiences would be entertained taking a strong message with themselves.