Blast Movie Review: An Action-Family Entertainer That Lives Up to Its Name

Blast Movie Synopsis: In Blast, there are several intro sequences, an action block every five minutes, three main villains, and a family of karate fighters played by Arjun, Abhirami, and Preity Mukhundhan – yet every scene is stitched together neatly, resulting in a blast of a theatrical experience.Blast Movie Review: Open Instagram today, and you’re bound to come across viral videos about daughters being exact copies of their fathers. Blast, in many ways, is built around one such father-daughter duo, and when they team up, the world silently listens. Debutant director Subash K Raj beautifully narrates this through Preity Mukhundhan’s Nila and her father, who is a karate master (Arjun). What makes this dynamic work is that Subash K Raj avoids the obvious visual parallels. Rather than showing father and daughter mirroring each other in neat montage-like moments (For example, remember the umbrella clips of the Eena Meena song?), their similarities emerge through the writing, body language, and evolving character arcsTake one sequence, for instance. Nila is learning the art of karate, and she loses her first match. While she disappointedly lies down on the bed, Arjun narrates about his first loss, and that short narration shows the similarities between the two, about how, be it a win or a loss, Nila sees a hero she wants to follow. This makes the sequences add a smile to your face. Now, a woman derives her strength from her family. In a society where most women are taught to adjust, Arjun says the opposite to a young Nila. “If someone hits, fight back. Your father or mother won’t always be with you,” he tells her. From there, this becomes her life’s policy. Arjun plays a karate master and trains Nila to be independent and fearless. So much so that she fights not just for herself, but for anyone who needs help. Come to think of it, Preity essentially plays our typical Tamil hero role. Yet, it feels refreshing to see a woman carry it with such conviction on screen, and also have a character arc that’s well-written to support it. Abhirami, who plays Nila’s mother, is also a karate fighter. So, when Nila lands in trouble, the family bands together to fight back.The best of Blast, though, lies in the little details. For instance, the biggest action twist in the film does not come from Arjun or Preity. And I know who you are thinking, it isn’t from Abhirami either. Instead, the film hands its biggest action pivot to a fourth person altogether, which makes the setup interesting. From a stunning introduction fight sequence for Preity, the film has an action block every five to ten minutes. Yet, it gets redundant only in very few instances, thanks to predictable yet exciting twists. Much of Blast’s charm lies in its frames, dialogues, and character arcs. When Nila takes up karate classes, she is gifted a teddy bear. While you see her go and hug the bear, the film immediately cuts to her using it like a punching dummy for karate practice. Although she fights and lands repeatedly in trouble, we see Nila hesitate to hit someone every once in a while. But Arjun almost always pushes her to do the right thing, and sometimes, these happen just in action, with no words communicating the support. In Blast, there are several intro sequences, an action block every five minutes, three main villains, and a family of karate fighters– yet every scene is stitched together with such detailing, resulting in a blast of a theatrical experience.Beyond the action choreography, the film’s detailing also extends to production design and character staging. Almost every character’s introduction starts at their home with food being made and served. While the main family’s intro begins with an egg dosa and a petty fight over who gets the first bite, with a kitchen neatly aligned, another man is shown when he gets into a fight with his wife over less salt in the food, where the kitchen is quite small and untidy. Whereas one of the villains is depicted cooking a pasta for himself in a large kitchen that has almost nothing except the stove. In a later sequence, you also learn how the villain has been alone for years, and always loves doing things just by himself. When we talk about details, such distinctions make the characters feel lived-in, even amidst the mass-ness of the Tamil actioner.The casting and performances of most actors, including the younger Nila, are on point, which aids the writing. The action blocks may seem a little repetitive, and some choices like cutting to a different sentiment in the middle of an important action scene might put us off, but such qualms can be overlooked. Because the biggest win of debutant director Subash K Raj is knowing exactly when enough is enough. From a stunning heroine-introduction action sequence to English tracks flooding the background and villains appearing one after another, the film constantly tries something new and comes dangerously close to becoming redundant. Yet, just when things threaten to become repetitive, it swerves away at the perfect moment.