Lokesh Kanagaraj’s “Leo” generated significant anticipation even before its release, mainly due to questions about its connection to the Lokesh cinematic universe (LCU) and the possibility of star cameos.
While the film’s racy and tension-filled first half showcases Lokesh Kanagaraj’s talent as a master storyteller who has a firm grip on the audience’s attention, the second half completely derails the excitement of the first half.
On top of it, Lokesh has written some very half-baked characters like Satya (Trisha), Elisa (Madonna Sebastian), Anthony Das, and Harold Das. And then there are some lousy characters that serve no purpose like Anurag Kashyap and Priya Anand’s characters. The prostitute’s character from Vikram also left the audience puzzled and baffled.
The human sacrifice angle in the second half came across as complete farce and bore which could have actually been bone chilling. Both Sanjay Dutt and Arjun were given poorly etched roles and failed to create any kind of fear as villains. Instead that ‘Chocolate Coffee’ psycho guy in the first half made better impact.
Lokesh is undoubtedly a brillaint director and master craftsman but he should slow down and not rush to make films. His habit of finishing movies in less than a year is now affecting the quality of the film and its characters. We saw this happening in Master and now in Leo.
Lokie needs to sit down, take time, and work on the world-building and characters a little more to create films which his audience expects from him.
