The first half was fantastic. Aishwarya Rai was magnificent, as was Vikram. The flow and pacing felt better than part 1.
Most of the second half was fantastic, too. Some of the scenes were excellently shot - Ash and Vikram again steal the show. But the ending was a downer, and a big one at that.
Condensing a huge novel into 2 movies requires some changes to the original script and I understand that. So, I have no qualms with a few things (even important ones) being changed. But grandiose battle sequences is not what PS is about, and it is not Mani Ratnam's forte. Those pointless battle scenes (not in the novel) could've been replaced with some more character exploration and depth. I complained that PS-1 had more battle scenes than needed and PS-2 takes it further.
PS is about politics, secrets, love, and an intricately woven tale, not some grand battles fought by Cholas. Even Rahman's background score felt a tad underwhelming. At some points, the music was excellent, but it for most of the scenes, it didn't pack the punch PS1's score did, which I thought was quite good.
This had potential to be 9/10, but sits at 7.5-8/10. It is still a very good movie, but I cannot help but feel a bit of a missed opportunity.
Most of the second half was fantastic, too. Some of the scenes were excellently shot - Ash and Vikram again steal the show. But the ending was a downer, and a big one at that.
Condensing a huge novel into 2 movies requires some changes to the original script and I understand that. So, I have no qualms with a few things (even important ones) being changed. But grandiose battle sequences is not what PS is about, and it is not Mani Ratnam's forte. Those pointless battle scenes (not in the novel) could've been replaced with some more character exploration and depth. I complained that PS-1 had more battle scenes than needed and PS-2 takes it further.
PS is about politics, secrets, love, and an intricately woven tale, not some grand battles fought by Cholas. Even Rahman's background score felt a tad underwhelming. At some points, the music was excellent, but it for most of the scenes, it didn't pack the punch PS1's score did, which I thought was quite good.
This had potential to be 9/10, but sits at 7.5-8/10. It is still a very good movie, but I cannot help but feel a bit of a missed opportunity.