- Cast – Pradeep Ranganathan, Anupama Parameshwaran, KS Ravi Kumar, Kayadu Lohar, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Mysskin, Mariam, Manigandan and others
- Director – Ashwath Marimuthu
- Producer – Kalpathi S Aghoram, Kalpathi S Ganesh, Kalpathi S Suresh
- Banner – AGS Entertainments
- Music – Leon James
Overview
Return of the Dragon Movie Review – Ashwath Marimuthu, director of the Tamil hit Oh My Kadavule, returns with the film Return of the Dragon. Starring Pradeep Ranganathan and Anupama Parameswaran, this movie should be once again a fresh and interesting premise. While the Telugu version has recently released, here is our full review.
Return of the Dragon Movie Review
Return of the Dragon Movie Review
Storyline
The film tracks its hero Dragon (Pradeep Ranganathan), an engineering student who is a colossal failure at academics, having flunked 48 subjects, and navigates a messy breakup with his girlfriend (Anupama Parameswaran). Set on making something of himself, he falsifies certificates and lands a lucrative software job. He even marries a rich girl, a future that appears to set him up perfectly. But his past catches up with him, in the form of a college principal who reveals his fake degree. When he is presented with an ultimatum, get back to college and earn a real degree or lose it all – Dragon is sent back to campus, where he must face his past misdemeanors to redeem himself.
Performances
Pradeep Ranganathan’s performance is one of the film’s major highlights. His portrayal of a desperate young man trying to clean up his mess is engaging. After having left audiences in awe with Love Today, Pradeep continues to impress in this role.
Anupama Parameswaran, who plays a central character, has limited screen time and doesn’t have much to do. As the strict college principal, Mysskin is arresting, adding some heft to the film. Kayadu Lohar, as the hero’s fiancee, shows up with a competent performance and the supporting cast puts in decent efforts.
Return of the Dragon Movie Review
Technical Aspects
Leon James’ music is not so good. Though songs are not particularly memorable, the background score makes the film’s intense moments worthwhile. The cinematography captures the IT world and college campus well and added to the narrative’s authenticity. The production values are decent and the Telugu dubbing is fairly well done.
Return of the Dragon Movie Review
Analysis
Return of the Dragon is another film that Ashwath came up with an unconventional story. Overall, it continues to be engaging and carries with it an interesting premise.
But it struggles in execution, with too much emphasis on Dragon’s idle lifestyle, how he manages to land a cushy job by unethical means, and the details of office life. And while these elements are important in establishing his character, they drag the film to a crawl. The pacing in particular would have benefited from some tightening, there is a good 35 minutes of padding in that first half that could go, to maintain audience interest.
The climax, I find, is drawn out more than it needs to be, although it has its impact. The change in the protagonist from irresponsible fraudster to responsible person feels too quick, and thus less organic. Also, it could have given the romance between the lead pair more screen space, and the second heroine’s character doesn’t have a suitable conclusion.
While there are more than a few missteps in terms of storytelling, there are also moments of comedy throughout, especially in the college and IT office scenes, that’s quite entertaining. The humor and relatable conflict keep audiences engaged, making Return of the Dragon a film worthy of watching.
Return of the Dragon Movie Review
Positives
- Storyline: The enclosure of the film is unique and is rarely explored in the mainstream movies.
- Pradeep Ranganathan’s performance: His great screen presence carries the film.
- Climax: The message driven finale gives weight to the film’s story.
Negatives
- Slow Pace: The film takes a long time to establish its main conflict.
- Runtime: The longer the runtime, the lesser the impact of the film.
- Lag in scenes: Some sequences seem prolonged and pointless.
Return of the Dragon Movie Review
Verdict
Return of the Dragon is an interesting film with a novel premise but suffers from pacing issues and an overstretched runtime. Pradeep Ranganathan’s performance is a big plus, and the message of honesty and redemption makes the film meaningful. Unlike the first film, it has some potential, and with a little more ambition could be a much better film, but as it stands remains relatively bland and thus only passably watchable.
Return of the Dragon Movie Review
Rating: 2.75/5
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