Did Vijay Deverakonda's Liger Live Upto Expectations?

Starring: Vijay Deverakonda, Ananya Panday, Ramya Krishna, Ronit Roy

Directed by: Puri Jagannadh

 Genre: Action/Sport

Duration: 2h 18m

A mother's dream is to make her son the number one MMA fighter. He stammers through words but punches are pronounced well. The journey isn't simple and challenges are around the corner. An underdog's story in the ring!

What works for the film?

No one can say Vijay Deverakonda didn't try. The built and physical transformation of an MMA fighter was believable. He did a fine job in carrying the stance. Ronit Roy and Ramya Krishnan had some moments which held up an otherwise weak narrative.

The outdoorsy nature of the film and the backdrop were pleasant. Some scenes were elevated due to their setting. The first half in comparison to the two halves was watchable. It had some narrative.

What doesn't work for the film?

Everything. A cross breed of a tiger and lion, two lethal species in the wild, meant a loud roar with a sly pounce yet it was barely a whir rather a purr that couldn't hold on to the masses.

Liger did make a lot of noise during its announcement; Vijay Deverakonda collaborating with Puri Jagannadh in association with Dharma Productions meant something grand, plus a cameo from Iron Mike aka Mike Tyson only increased the expectations. However high time Dharma Productions recognize that an overseas star is not going save a sinking ship, neither 'Will Smith of the year' nor Mike Tyson's cross' fated liger cameo could conjure that trick.

The performances fell pale in comparison to the actors' potential. While they were moments and glimmers of hope, nothing appeared convincing. It's impossible to single out one bad performance because as a unit it has underperformed.

The most disappointing part of liger is the unexplored potential. There were so many plot points that could have made the movie worth watching. The underdog story, mother's quest to son's achievements, cushioned life vs an existence fought through and so on but instead we get nothing.

There were a lot of expectations from themes that did not deliver. A failure in plot structure and a shaky start with a terrible end. But like they say, a terrible ending is better than no ending at all. The only good thing about the second half was it made the first half look better.

Final thoughts - Watch or skip.

Enough said evidently! Ramya and Vijay have so many underrated gems in their filmography, watch those instead. Liger is an easy skip. One star for the potential and shimmer of some moments.

Stars: 1/5