Good Bad Ugly (Telugu) Review

When fans perform milk abhishekams on 200-foot cutouts of their favourite superstars, when a superstar's 150th film is titled Khaidi No 150, and when the lead actor's name rolls on screen as "Power Star" or "Icon Star" even before the movie title appears, it's clear that the stars, in return, engage in some fan service. But when that fan service crosses into the realm of the illogical and extreme, you get something like Good Bad Ugly - now on GBU - the latest outing from Ajith.

Notorious crime boss AK, also known as Red Dragon (Ajith Kumar), surrenders to the authorities in hopes of quitting violence, reuniting with his wife Ramya (Trisha Krishnan) and leading a peaceful life with their son Vihaan (Karthikeya Dev). After serving an 18-year prison sentence, AK is finally released - only to discover that Vihaan has been arrested on charges of drug trafficking and murder. Now, AK must return to his violent ways to prove his son's innocence.

Right from the very beginning, this movie makes it abundantly clear that it's fan service wrapped in the guise of a feature film. There are plenty of on-the-nose lines like "Ade style, ade walk", "my vintage star is back", "he's back", "Thala is here", and, of course, repeated chants of "AK", all accompanied by carefully curated stills from Ajith's older films. Mind you, the movie hasn't even properly started yet. Several minutes go by before the camera finally pans - first to his feet, then his back and side profile, and eventually, the bespectacled face of AK. And when it all starts AK himself makes some explicit references to the characters of his past hit movies.

And then begins a barrage of action sequences. The more spectacular ones are replayed in slow motion. Soon enough, every walk AK takes is in slow-mo - as if his stride alone deserves a standing ovation. And then comes the big reveal - our AK isn't just any gangster; he's the daddy of them all. Apparently, he even helped out John Wick and Don Lee. Yes, you heard that right.

Remember the "Happy Diwali, folks!" line from Robot, when Rajinikanth's character unleashes a storm of bullets in all directions? Well, AK takes it several notches higher. His car is armed with ten machine guns - yes, ten. How, AK? How do you have access to such firepower when even the most elite forces around the world don't?

The performances across the cast are largely flat. AK stays firmly in his perpetual GOAT mode, while Trisha is relegated to the clichéd role of a nagging wife. Arjun Das, despite playing twin antagonists - Johny and Jammy - fails to leave a mark. Though the characters are distinct on paper, they appear identical on screen. A case of poor acting or poor direction? Hard to tell.

Even a seasoned actor like Sayaji Shinde is underutilised. Bizarrely, someone else has dubbed for him, despite his fluency in both Telugu and Tamil - and his distinct dialogue delivery being one of his trademarks.

Have you ever seen a movie where punches land, bullets fire and knives slash in perfect sync with a song's beat? I hadn't - until this film. And yes, it all unfolds to the tune of AK's own old songs. Call it sycophancy on steroids, but when you consider the execution, it's no small feat. Choreographing action sequences like that takes serious skill. So, technically, the film excels - boasting top-notch cinematography, slick fight choreography and lavish set pieces.

G V Prakash Kumar seems to be the only one who understood the assignment. His background score is impressive and adds some much-needed life to the film. However, the songs fall flat - they're overstuffed with praise for AK and feel excessive, even by fan-service standards.

All in all, the narrative is straightforward: a retired gangster is forced to return to his violent ways when his son is wrongly arrested. But instead of telling just that story, the director turns it into a mash-up of AK's greatest hits - popular movie moments, get-ups, iconic stills, punchlines and songs - and unfortunately, it doesn't land well.

Good Bad Ugly isn't meant for average viewers or even casual fans. It's strictly for die-hard AK loyalists.