Captain Miller Movie Review

                                                     Captain Miller 

India's Captain Miller (2024) Arun Matheswaran, director
The majority of contemporary British people view the British Raj and the British Empire as a cause of embarrassment rather than something to be proud of. I doubt the recollections aren't also very positive about India.

Set in the 1930s, King Rajadhipathi (Jayaprakash) only permits the wealthy and powerful to enter a local temple where a statue of the deity Ayyanar Koranar is located. Easa (Dhanush), a peasant who is incensed by this, believes that the only way to gain any respect is to enlist in the British Indian Army, which he does, and he is given the English name Miller. 

Miller kills his commanding officer when one of the troops in his squad kills himself out of guilt after being ordered to shoot a group of unarmed Indian protestors. After learning that his own brother was one of the dead, Miller returns to his village and joins a group of rebels, becoming somewhat famous in the process. After being shot during a raid, Velmathi (Priyanka Arul Mohan), the King's niece, treats Miller and requests that he kill Riley (Alexx O'Nell), the son of a British governor, in order to get revenge for the death of her husband.

It is the one issue that the writer feels no need to address in a substantial way, given the story's unstable political underpinnings that motivate Captain Miller. But if it did, the movie would be longer than its 156-minute, bum-numbing runtime. It's unfortunate that the script skips over a lot of ground in this huge runtime because many parts require more development, but I think the amazing combat will provide plenty of balance for many viewers.

Bollywood films are known for their absurd runtimes, which are rarely justified. Occasionally, a movie may prove to be the exception to the rule, as this one does on paper. Instead, director Arun Matheswaran has chosen to take the audience on a crazy rollercoaster, which he hopes will be enough to provide the best possible enjoyment along the way. To be fair, he is successful in that regard.

Because of the viewpoint from which the tale is being delivered, as well as the fact that it is almost obvious from reading the plot synopsis alone, anyone who is not familiar with the British Raj shouldn't expect a history lesson from this movie. Although China and America frequently use their own patriotic and exaggerated spin on this topic, this does not mean that India does not have the right to do so; rather, it calls for some balance when describing the British position as well.

With the exception of General Wandy (Edward Sonnenblick), the fictitious "final boss" of the malevolent British overlords, the enemies are one-dimensional and get relatively little screen time because the story lacks an objective thrust. This places more emphasis on the Raj's theory and impact as the reason for Miller's uprising than on the real offenders, but it also skips over the Indians who surrendered to the enemy, which is a crucial topic in my opinion.

This is facilitated by Velmathi, who, after her father's death, grew up with a king for an uncle. As a result, Velmathi broke out on her own, became a doctor, and stopped living off the benefits of her family's prestige and connections. When Miller finds out that Velmathi is married, his desire for her is swiftly dashed, and even though fate reunites them, their relationship is still platonic.

By now, I would normally be in full narrative discussion mode, but there's a reason I'm not—there's just too much going on, and the flashback format can be a little confusing. We jump back (or forward; it's unclear at first) to start the story in earnest after the film opens with an elderly woman in full flight telling a gathering of children about the legend of Ayyanar Koranar.

 We see alliances being forged, betrayals, gunfights, explosions, a heist, more gunfights, fights, more explosions, executions, more flashbacks, an uprising, more explosions, a huge body count, a few unexpected resurrections, tragedies, and a great deal of Indian pride at stake over the course of the next two and a half hours. Additionally, a musical number that was geared to enhancing the supporting characters should have been eliminated.

Miller is the main character and receives the most attention, but the writing does a poor job of expressing that he is not the only individual having a stake. We needed to learn more about the head rebel Kannaya (Elango Kumaravel), Miller's older brother Sengolan (Shiva Rajkumar), and the fierce female rebel Thaenu (Nivedhithaa Sathish), the only other woman with a significant part besides Velmathi.

But this is clearly a genre movie, and they are known for being more interested in sizzle than meat. Although it needs to cover an inordinate amount of run time, which gives the impression that it is more vapid than it is, the script does a fantastic job of weaving a readable story and making the stakes apparent enough that this doesn't feel completely pointless. This could easily be fixed with a 40-minute cut.

The action scenes in the second half, which are preceded by the jewel robbery that unfolds like a western with a Morricone-inspired soundtrack, are Matheswaran's attempt to match Hollywood's extravagant extravagance. The ensuing conflicts are equally, if not better, spectacles; only the sheer magnitude of craziness will push it over the brink of believability for some, but wow, they are a lot of fun. It's a well-constructed set piece that sticks out as the most memorable despite being on the verge of being exaggerated. A film that vexes as much as it entertains, failing to live up to its thematic and emotional potential, but offering too much value for the money, Captain Miller is too visually stunning and captivating to take your eyes off it.