The most amusing thing in Eli is the way its hero, Vadivelu, reads the pre-credits smoking disclaimer. Now, that should give you an idea of how the actual movie is — overlong, dull and largely unfunny. The director, Yuvaraj Dhayalan, seems to be after a spoof of spy movies but the filmmaking has no comic rhythm and the script, which rehashes elements from movies as varied as Ragasiya Police 115 and The Departed, is too slack that scenes just go on for ever.

The plot revolves around the police trying to capture a gang of cigarette smugglers headed by Nagarajan ( Pradeep Rawat), who has manag... read the rest.