“Phoenix” Film Review: Vijay Sethupathi’s son makes a magnificent debut

Vijay Sethupathy’s son – Surya Sethupathi – makes his adult debut and debut as lead actor in the film Phoenix, the directorial debut of stunt director Anl Arasu.  Surya made his acting debut in Naanum Rowdy thaan. The second lead is played by J. Vignesh, the former child star who played the elder brother in Kaakka Muttai. The supporting cast includes Varalaxmi, Sambath Raj, Devadarshini, Varsha Viswanath, Abi Nakshatra, Dileepan, Ajay Ghosh, Aadukalam Naren, Aadukulam Murugadoss and Sreejith Ravi.  

Surya (Surya Sethupathi) is arrested for the murder of MLA Karikalan (Sambath Raj). Karikalan’s wife, Maya (Varalaxmi) and his father-in-law (Ajay Ghosh) are determined to have Surya killed before the trial. As the police investigation commences, the long arm of political power is revealed but there is more to Surya than meets the eye.

This is an impressive directorial debut of stunt master Anla Arasu. As expected, there is a great emphasis on the stunts – and his efforts have paid handsome dividends. However, the film relies on much more than stunts to sustain the viewer’s attention.

The characters are well etched and the narrative, especially in the first half, follows a breathless and tense pace. The scripting reveals enough of the characters to keep the audience involved and the non-linear screenplay helps in heightening suspense. The combined effects of the screenplay and script are heightened by intense acting performances.

It is a magnificent debut for Surya Sethupathi. The 20-year old has clearly put in a lot of physical training for the role, and complements this with powerful expressions and a soft child-like vulnerability at times.  He is brilliant in the film’s action sequences and commands a screen presence even in his first adult role.

J Vignesh is developing into a versatile and powerful actor. His portrayal of Karna leaves a lasting impression. He too handles the film’s intense and complicated stunts with apparent ease.

Varalaxmi infuses the required venom into her role and supports this with the appropriate facial expressions, body language and voice intonation.

Sambath Raj, always versatile and convincing, injects finesse into the character of the crooked Karikalan while Ajay Ghosh delivers another powerful performance.

Devadharshini remains an under-rated actress and her portrayal of the mother of Surya and Karna underscores this.

Varsha Viswanath does not have a lot of screen time but does enough to be one of the film’s memorable characters.

It is a tailor-made role for Munnar Ramesh who plays the crooked policeman effortlessly.

Abi Nakshatra, Aadukalam Naran, Aadukalam Murugadoss, Harish Uthaman and Sreejith Ravi are the best of the others.

Technically, there are two aspects of Phoenix that elevate the film.

Firstly, Anl Arasu is simply amazing in his stunt coordination in this film. The fight scenes are very realistic and contain numerous jaw-dropping moments. The mixed martial arts sequence in the ring is by the far the highlight of the film.

The other aspect that make the film tower over others is the brilliant cinematography by R. Velraj. The use of lighting goes beyond Velraj’s usual level of excellence, frequently threatening to overpower the narrative.

Music composer Sam CS could have done a better job of the songs but it is difficult to fault his background score which would rank among his best efforts to date.

Phoenix is an outstanding directorial debut for Anl Arasu and takes action movies to a new level without ignoring the dramatic and emotive elements in the story. The film’s technical excellence matches the film’s powerful acting performances. The pace of the second half could have been tauter, but still succeeds in creating tense suspense.

Phoenix scores 9 points out of 10. This film is scheduled to stream on OTT from 22 August 2025. The OTT Platform will be announced later this month.