Tik Tik Tik movie review: This Jayam Ravi starrer is a masala movie set in space

Director Shakti Soundar Rajan‘s Tik Tik Tik which is promoted as India’s first space film sets the theme to soar high with its ambition in terms of visuals and the inventive genre. With it’s beautifully shot scenes, Imman’s perfect music and impressive VFX, the film sets the right tone and mood. However, these are just a few of the good things about the film. Tik Tik Tik may disguise itself as a space film, but it is a ‘masala’ movie set in zero gravity. It is a film which employs the usual troopes of this genre – the macho hero who saves the day, the emotional parent-child scenes and the villain who threatens the hero. What makes these scenes barely enjoyable are the cliches and the illogical plot the film rides in.

The story of Tik Tik Tik begins when the team at the Defence Space Division notice an asteroid which is expected to hit Chennai soon. They soon arrange a five-member team to travel to space and launch a missile which will break the asteroid. Trouble further intensifies when the key member of the team, an escape artist named Vasu (Jayam Ravi) is threatened to hand over the missile to someone else.

Tik Tik Tik should be lauded for the offering a new visual experience for the Tamil film audiences. It’s the first time the audiences are getting the experience of watching the story unfold in a backdrop from away from Earth. The lighting is very good, the twists in the screenplay bring out tension among the characters, which makes it seems like the audiences are traveling with them. Director Shakti scores well in these pivotal areas. However, the film still falters.

Tik Tik Tik isn’t designed as a comedy, but it’s difficult to not notice some scenes which provide unintentional laughter. The scenes also leave us with a lot of questions. The most notable is the ludicrous scene featuring a space station of a neighboring country (docking station of the future) where the team members are dressed in military camouflage clothes and are equipped with guns. And despite this Vasu (Jayam Ravi) easily uses his machoism to hit them, and even manages to push them outside the station. Not just that, when their commanding office notices how his men are defeated, he immediately orders more men (or soldiers) to take charge! How is that so convenient in space? Are these guys space pirates? Did they fly with arms to space because they were expecting alien invasion? It’s beyond logic.

However, what comes close to the level of irrationality, is how the government has vested power in the defense division to blow up the asteroid. The team members of this Defence division even train thieves and hackers to fly to space. They make the training so easy that it makes it seem like these guys have traveled to space several times. But it’s not as easy as it seems. They require Vasu to help them execute their failed plan. When in trouble, it is Vasu who helps the Defence division members (Nivetha Pethuraj and Vincent Asokan) – be it refilling the fuel or launching a missile to space, Vasu does it all. This makes them seem incompetent. Isn’t this why ISRO didn’t execute this job, and the Defence Space Division decided to do it

Jayam Ravi’s performance seems effortless. He juggles between being an action hero and doting father. Nivetha Pethuraj looks fierce but barely emotes. What was refreshing to see was that the director didn’t provide a love angle between Jayam Ravi and Nivetha.

Tik Tik Tik may be Indian’s first space film but it is definitely not India’s first film low on logic. However, Vasu has a lot of potential of being India’s first superhero, who can fight on Earth and space.