For those unaware, Coolie is the first-time collaboration between Rajinikanth, the reigning superstar, and Lokesh Kanagaraj, a highly celebrated filmmaker of Tamil cinema. It also marks the former’s 50th year of starring in feature films. Commemorating the same, Kalanithi Maran of Sun Pictures has bankrolled the project on a lavish budget.

The film’s ensemble cast—Nagarjuna, Soubin Shahir, Upendra, Aamir Khan, and Sathyaraj—is a testament to the makers’ ambition of selling it to the audiences across the length and breadth of the country, rather than the Tamil audience alone. But did the film live up to its expectations? Let’s find out.

Coolie narrates the tale of Deva investigating the death of Rajasekhar, a close friend of his. Things take a turn when he crosses paths with Simon, a kingpin who smuggles luxury watches through cargo.

The film begins well with an outstanding title card celebrating the superstar’s Diamond Jubilee in Indian cinema, an intriguing character-introductions episode, some foot-tapping songs, and a neatly choreographed action sequence. The first hour of the film is entertaining and promises to be a good entertainer. But unfortunately, Kanagaraj had other plans.

Right from the pre-interval block to the climax, the film is tough to sit through, to say the least. Even Anirudh Ravichander, often the saving grace in underwhelming films, falls short here, with his music turning out to be excessively loud and lackluster. Upendra’s introduction in the latter half, supposedly inserted to invoke excitement, seems to be a blatant rip-off from Nelson’s Jailer. Also, Aamir Khan’s much-hyped special appearance at the end is exhausting and forced.

Talking about the performances of the cast, Akkineni Nagarjuna plays a don who, despite being ultra-stylish, is generic to the core. Even the confrontation scenes of his with Rajini, whose charisma has saved the film to an extent, fail to evoke any excitement and are underwhelming. On the flip side, Shruti Haasan and Soubin Shahir get meaty roles and deliver praise-worthy performances; the former also leaves an emotional impact as the story concludes.

Technically speaking, Coolie is a mixed bag. Pooja Hegde’s dance number, despite being poorly choreographed, is enjoyable on screen primarily due to the actress’s oomph. Anbariv’s action and Girish Gangadhran’s camerawork begin well but lose steam as the film progresses. Talking about the captain of the ship, Lokesh Kanagaraj, he deserves praise for his intellect in convincing an ensemble cast to be part of a film that is half-baked, uninspiring and tiring. Barring a few moments in the first half, the writer-director has completely failed in crafting a compelling narrative.

To wrap it up, Coolie is a run-of-the-mill entertainer that doesn’t offer anything memorable in terms of plot or execution. Indeed, it makes the audience regret coming to cinemas with its excessively loud action in the latter half and clumsy writing. Easily the weakest work of Kanagaraj, the film, that is supposed to be a tribute to Thalaiva, is a tiresome watch and ends up as a disappointment of epic proportions.