Japan review: Karthi’s 25th film does everything but entertain

Director Raju Murugan, best known for making the critically acclaimed and National Award-winning film Joker (2016), tries to deliver a commercial entertainer this time.

However, his plans don’t seem to have worked because Japan does everything other than entertaining.

The film ends up being an annoying, insipid drama that is neither convincing nor engaging.

Ironically, Japan happens to be Karthi’s 25th film in Tamil.

Synopsis

A daring burglary at a popular jewellery store leaves the city’s cops stunned. The value of the stolen goods is estimated to be around ₹ 200 crore.

The cops swing into action, and it doesn’t take them long to find that the burglary has been committed by a notorious and bold criminal named Japan Muni (Karthi).

Several units of police are pressed on the mission to nab Japan, which is wanted by the police forces of several states for several robberies committed in each of the places.

Two senior police officers, in particular, are eager to nab Japan.

One is duty-conscious police officer Karuppusamy (Vijay Milton), who believes in completing tasks assigned to him and not questioning higher-ups.

The other is Srithar(Sunil), a corrupt cop eager to recover some video clips in which he is seen in a compromising position with various women from Japan.

When Japan, who has been diagnosed with HIV+ and is wallowing in self-pity, learns that the cops are after him for a heist that he did not commit, he is perplexed.

Somebody else seems to have adopted his working style to loot the jewellery store and shift the blame onto him. Who has stolen the jewels, and why have they done it? How does Japan handle the problem? The film gives you the answers.

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Insipid narration

Almost everything about Japan seems to have gone awfully wrong — the soulless story, its insipid narration, the awkward costumes that Karthi dons, or the weird tone he adopts to deliver his dialogues, almost nothing works!

The dance sequences are an assault on your senses.

Anu Emmanuel, who plays an actress in the film, has no substantial role apart from appearing in a couple of raunchy songs and sequences.

The only actor who impresses with his credible performance is cinematographer Vijay Milton, who looks his part.

Final take

In all, Raju Murugan’s Japan deeply disappoints and leaves you highly dissatisfied.

(Views expressed here are personal.)