This Vishal-starrer, excluding S J Suryah’s charming presence, ends up being an unnecessarily noisy and stupid movie that neither strikes a serious nerve nor a wacky one; it also revives the destructive cliché of antagonizing LGBT characters.
Adhik Ravichandran’s Mark Antony, an absurdly loud and silly time-travel gangster thriller that neither takes itself seriously nor is unusual enough to disregard its glaring shortcomings, might nevertheless seem more alluring after reading this review.
What would happen if a violent gang struggle from the 1970s was caught up in a time-travel device? That is a clear yet intriguing issue that could be the unique selling point of Adhik’s novel. The premise of Adhik’s story and how he uses the time machine at first have promise. Jackie Pandian (SJ Suryah) and Mark Antony (Vishal) shared control of most of Chennai in 1975. Sadly, when their foe Ekambaram (Sunil) shoots Antony dead in a club one fateful night, everything goes awry.
In 1995, Jackie is a crime boss who shows Mark (again played by Vihal) more attention than his own son Madhan (again played by Suryah). The situation changes when Mark chooses to call his departed parents using a Time Travel Phone invented by the late scientist Chiranjeevi (Selvaraghavan).
Adhik uses Chiranjeevi’s fascinating sci-tech equipment as he pleases, turning it into a toy for some grown-up children in the process. There are some restrictions on using this device for time travel, such as the fact that calls can only be placed to the past, a user cannot call the same date more than once, a first-time user will levitate in the air, lighting can cause issues, and only they will be aware of changes in the present after the call. However, don’t stress about remembering these rules; even Adhik doesn’t take them seriously.
Why do Tamil film heroes seem to be incapable of understanding even the most fundamental time-travel laws? Vishal plays Mark Antony, a character who neither understands time travel nor finds any real peace in writing, just a few weeks after GV Prakash’s annoying Jeeva in Adiyae.
Mark Antony’s dramatic changes
The dramatic changes that result from a life-changing time-travel trip might perhaps be expected of Mark, but why bother when he can shake a leg with his ex-girlfriend Ramya (Ritu Varma), an unnecessary damsel-in-distress who receives very little screen time? In this film, several of the characters react to their feelings in a single, frequently loud note: Mark squeals or shudders, Jackie yells, Mark Antony occasionally uses a low voice, and Madhan oscillates between the two.
Apart from Suryah’s wonderful presence and a few fantastic masala moments, Mark Antony isn’t really enjoyable, but it could have been that utterly bonkers entertainer that makes you forgive any logical errors. The plot keeps you hoping that something out of the ordinary will occur—something that violates genre norms or makes up for everything that’s been lost—but it never does.
Even Vishal’s dialogue that initially seems sympathetic about what Silk, a.k.a. Experienced Vijayalakshmi is unable to conceal the irony of what follows next. When Vishnu Priya Gandhi, an actor who has been graphically transformed to resemble the late actress Silk Smitha, is presented for cheap laughs, things only get worse. She is forced to speak with a seductress-like modulation all the time.
Adhik is well known for making crude films and for inciting controversy, and Mark Antony is no different. You might overlook Jackie’s bigoted speech because you wouldn’t expect a brutal, womanizing mobster from the 1970s to comprehend queers. But why would it be so difficult for a filmmaker in 2023 to understand that a song with transwomen just helps to increase societal fetishization or mocking of these women? The same transwomen beat to death an effeminate gay character (Y. G. Mahendran) and then make an attempt to murder the main character, reinvigorating the toxic cliché of antagonistic queer characters.
The only things Mark Antony has going for it are the character designs and the vivid colors that pop against the warm tones. Vishal and Suryah both look stunning in a few pictures, and it was obvious that they both liked taking on the roles of elderly people. But if I had a Time Travel Phone, I would have phoned Adhik the moment his first sip was ready or the lead actors the moment they agreed to play the lead roles in the film. before I saw the movie, or even myself.