Coolie review: A chaotic cocktail of Vikram and Jawan, Rajnikanth’s 171th film feels like a miss

Coolie tries to honour Rajnikanth’s 50-year legacy while also being a trademark Kanagaraj spectacle, but the mix ends up as an exhausting ride weighed down by its own legacy.

Call him Thalaivar, Superstar Rajni, or just plain Rajnikanth, whether you’re a fan or not, it’s hard to ignore this larger-than-life persona who’s ruled the big screen for 50 years. From the way he flips his sunglasses to the way he spins a cigarette, Rajnikanth changed the way we see cinema. He made mass commercial films where an ordinary man could be a larger-than-life hero, a man who lived for his family, struggled for them, and if needed, would also die for them. In that sense, it’s not just inevitable but a privilege to pay tribute to his legacy. And who better to do that than Lokesh Kanagaraj? When a mass hero joins hands with a mass filmmaker, what could possibly go wrong? Well, turns out the result could be a film that’s overtly long, weighed down by the pressure of two big legacies, ultimately losing its way trying to recreate their combined magic.

The story is nothing you haven’t seen before with a mix of crime syndicates smuggling drugs, guns, and gold. There's a deadly weapon used for personal gain; an alcohol hating orphan who owns a mansion-turned-hostel, and whose past as a coolie hides a secret with a father-daughter bond at the heart of it. It’s staged like a classic hero-vs-villain tale with a vengeful past and runs for two hours and fifty-nine minutes, packed with emotional drama, action, plot twists, and more subplots than you can count, all with Rajnikanth at the center.

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Long before Shah Rukh Khan made multiple grand entries in a single film or stylishly shifted a cigar from one side of his mouth to another, Rajnikanth had been doing it for decades. In a way, we saw the Rajnikantification of SRK in Jawan. All Atlee did was create a metafictional film that borrowed from the romance king’s life which was a smart idea to build a narrative. That seems similar to something that Lokesh Kanagaraj has built his entire legacy on! His style of shaping films around ageing superstars, honours their legacy while giving their audience something fresh. He’s done it with Kamal Haasan in Vikram and Vijay in Leo. Audience have come to love this style, that they now recognize as his signature. In that sense, Coolie is no different! It borrows from Rajni’s own life as a coolie and his iconic 80s style and filters it through Kanagaraj’s lens with stylised action set pieces, Chekov's gun, Anirudh's thundering background score and the classic old school story of hero vs villian reimagined with a modern edge. As Nagarjuna becomes the main antagonist and Soubin Shahir joins to deliver a deliciously twisty villain, the 74-year-old superstar graciously pulls off the action he’s famous for, even though it’s often the camera doing most of the heavy lifting. 

However, while it is trying to be both a quintessential Rajnikanth and a trademark Kanagaraj film, the tone ultimately fails to settles. As the plot thickens with murdered fathers, estranged children, traitorous syndicate members and subplots of double-crossing wives, and an electric chair piles on, it’s easy to lose track and patience. By the time Rajni is shedding blood to an old-school track, you’re worn out. Hence, unfortunately, a film with this many grand entries, stylistically crafted scenes and high-octane set pieces, supposed to leave you as exhilarated as nostalgic leaves you exhausted. Even though the female characters have more to do in this film as opposed to Kanagaraj’s past films yet Shruti Haasan’s helplessness is frustrating, despite her grounded performance.

The weight of legacy is a burden to carry, whether it’s for a reluctant son struggling to keep up with his father or a superstar trying to give fans something new while staying true to what they worship him for. This is evident in Coolie, where the film feels weighed down by signature styles, whether of the new-age filmmaker style or of the burden of 80s on 2025’s cinema. While the film might work for a Rajni fan who catches all the references, or a Kanagaraj fan who enjoys his familiar style but it might feel tiring than thrilling if you love both or neither. Nevertheless, the lighter moments when Rajni cracks jokes in tense situations, Shahir having a ball with a menacing trouble-making villain, and Aamir Khan’s eclectic cameo as a tattooed character, keeps you seated! 

Coolie is currently running in theatres near you!

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