Japan Movie is On OTT Now – Watch the Movie ofter This Review

Japan is a Tamil-language movie directed by Raju Murugan, released in 2021. The film is a character-driven narrative that revolves around Japan Muni, a notorious robber known for his criminal activities, played by Karthi. The plot revolves around a daring robbery in a jewellery showroom, which sets the story in motion, and the police force launches a hunt to track down Japan, who is a law unto himself.

Director Raju Murugan has taken a commercial approach in this movie, unlike his previous films. The film tries to be both a mass movie and a critique of the genre at the same time. The script is filled with self-awareness of the clichés in the movie, which makes it an interesting watch for the audience.

The character of Japan is far removed from the typical hero roles that we see in Kollywood. He is a robber who is unapologetic about his criminal ways and is full of flair. What’s more, he is HIV positive! Raju Murugan uses the plot as a clothesline to build the character of his protagonist. He weaves a web that covers criminals, cops, politicians, businessmen, and film stars.

From Japan’s underlings (played by Jithan Ramesh) to a minister (played by KS Ravikumar), a self-centred cop (played by Suneel), and a straightforward officer (played by cinematographer-director Vijay Milton, making his acting debut), each of these players has their stakes in the hunt for Japan. The director uses all these characters to show how they impact the life of a common man.

The film also portrays the struggles of an innocent character who is backward economically and socially and ends up trapped in the web. There is a hint of Visaaranai in these portions, which the director uses to emotionally anchor his film.

Japan Movie Review

Karthi’s committed performance as Japan is one of the highlights of the movie. He sinks his teeth into this role, making Japan a slightly unpredictable and unreliable character, keeping the audience engaged. However, the movie fails to hold the audience’s attention, and the scenes involving the character of Japan, especially in the first half, begin to feel indulgent after a while. But overall, the sharp dialogues and brilliant ideas fall short of emotionally engaging the audience.