"Watchman" review: This average thriller has box office potential

Another week, another G.V. Prakash movie. We had to endure Kuppathu Raja last week. Many theaters replace this film with one, well, another G.V. Prakash-starrer. Fortunately, the Watchman made by Vijay works to some extent and has box office potential, despite the fact that it lacks ordinary commercial ingredients.

The first twenty minutes of the movie are not only exciting. but also set the tone for the rest of what follows. Bala (GV Prakash) urgently needs cash to repay a previous loan – he literally has a lender in the back – and does not know what to do. He called everyone he knows, but no one is lending him that money. And he has a deadline: 24 hours.

And, in a desperate situation, he jumps a wall to enter a house he believes locked. A grumbling dog stands between him and the locked doors. This sequence, which comes about fifteen minutes after the beginning of the film, is one in which G.V. Prakash's performance is worthy of note. Watch him tremble with fear when the dog, named Bruno (who also receives a thunderous intro music), claws as he climbs virtually everything that is possible in the lawns of the house. Bala runs desperately to the shelter. He thinks Bruno wants to look for him. But he does not know that there is a twist in the tail.

The first half of Watchman's whistle is just wasting time detailing things that are not essential to the plot. The frequent breaks in the flashback of this day are boring at first, but once you are comfortable with that, it is easy to follow the proceedings. The work of the camera (Nirav Shah and Saravanan Ramaswamy) and the inquisitor score (by G.V. Prakash) add to the effect. But the plot gets lost halfway through the second half, when things are a little hastily put together. A terrorist angle is introduced, and some sequences seem too convenient.

Bruno, the golden retriever, seduces us with a performance that would have required a lot of training. When he has to go from one room to another without being noticed, he creeps stealthily. And when he needs to avoid being seen, he presses against a wall, almost like he's playing hide and seek. I wish he would get more offers.