Unnai Ninaithu (2002)

The last Suriya movie I saw before this was... Soorarai Pottru. And all I can do after this mind-numbing movie is to thank god for Suriya's glow-up. Not that you can't detect traces of talent here as well (which is why it was a hit, I suppose), but that man has GROWN and it's so beautiful and joyful to witness. 

Apart from this proud moment as a fan, this movie was a complete miss for me. I basically skipped through the parallel comedy track. Thank god (again) for phasing those out- when they were good, they were good, but when they were bad, they took the whole movie down with them (like here). Also it was too long, and I don't see for what purpose. Suriya's character, also titled Surya, was selfless and loving to a fault, and the movie revolved around that. The female characters weren't fleshed out at all, but then again, neither was the male lead so... #feminism, I guess. Just kidding, it's lazy writing, plain and simple. Usually I'm a big fan of these 90s and 00s rom-coms, because they remind me of more innocent times in my own life; this time around though, I was only glad that we as a society have progressed past the need for such formulaic movies (only to be replaced by another kind of formulaic movies, but that's a rant for another day). 

Probably best left for the Suriya DHFs. Rest of you, go and watch Soorarai Pottru. Or Thaana Serndha Koottam. Or Vaaranam Aayiram. 

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