Though he has earned a name as a bankable director with films like Chennai 600028, Saroja and Goa, Venkat Prabhu's loud declarations that he was a 'Thala' fan and the fact that he was directing Ajith's 50th film made us wonder if Mankatha would another adulatory star vehicle along the lines of Vijay's 50th film Suraa. Thankfully both the actor and the director have ensured that it is not. While Venkat Prabhu spins a reasonably entertaining tale of crime and criminals in his trademark style, Ajith surprises us by showing utter disregard for his image by taking on the lead role.

The funds from cricket betting are routed through Arumuga Chettiar(Jayaprakash), who operates a gambling den in a second-run theater in Mumbai. One of Chettiar's goons Sumanth(Vaibhav) plans to steal the money and ropes in a cop Ganesh, a bar owner Manath and a hacker Prem(Premgi Amaren). Vinayak(Ajith), a cop who is on suspension and is in love with Chettiar's daughter Sanjana(Trisha), learns of their plan and wants in. Meanwhile a Special Branch Inspector Prithviraj(Arjun) has been appointed to eradicate the betting syndicate altogether.

Ajith springs quite the surprise with his role. Having been conditioned for years by our commercial heroes steadfastly sticking to their goody-goody images, its not easy buying into his character. When he wakes up next to Lakshmi Rai, we expect a revelation that he didn't actually sleep with her; when he kills a friend, we expect a valid reason; and when he speaks demeaningly of love we expect a turnaround. But those never come. He is opportunistic and greedy and when he wins, its not because he is nicer but only because he is smarter and more ruthless. The hero-worship and glorification in the form of slo-mos and close-ups are still there to ensure that we cheer for him but Ajith playing such a character is undeniably the film's USP.

The film is like a James Hadley Chase novel with a group of criminals getting together to commit a crime and then being unable to enjoy the spoils as greed overcomes feelings of loyalty and friendship for one or more of them. Things move at a leisurely pace until the crime with introductions to the huge cast of characters, various romances and comedy. Some of these(like Ajith's acts to keep Trisha in the dark about his bad habits) work while others(like Premgi's comic act) don't.

The crime is quite underwhelming and the quick editing and the nifty camera techniques can go only so far in conveying the impression of things moving fast. Not much is shown about the planning - usually the best part of a robbery - and the actual heist happens too quickly without any unexpected complications and the accompanying tension. But the pace picks up after that. The double-crosses and the betrayals add a sense of unpredictability to the proceedings and the turns the story takes as the gang is followed from two different directions, keep us involved. The unpredictability doesn't extend till the end though since the climax doesn't offer any surprises.

Venkat Prabhu has his own brand of humor that involves a combination of in-jokes, cinematic references and humor at unexpected places. Saroja showed us that this kind of humor doesn't work well with thrillers but Venkat Prabhu hasn't realized that and indulges in the same here too. While many of the quips are admittedly clever and funny, they don't have the intended effect because they don't fit in and some of them destroy the moment.

Its been a while since Ajith had so much fun on screen. He just has to look cool most of the time but he exudes a lot of screen presence while doing so and he grabs our attention with the psychotic overtones that creep in as the stakes get higher. And the way he has agreed to be part of an ensemble cast, act his age and get hit all get him more brownie points as an actor who has matured well. Arjun looks driven as the cop and seems as agile as ever in the stunt sequences. The actresses get precious little to do in a movie loaded with testosterone with Andrea and Anjali getting the rawest deals. Trisha hangs around for the romance while Lakshmi Rai, after a weak start, gets a meatier role towards the end. Premgi is annoyingly repetitive while the other Venkat Prabhu movie regulars like Vaibhav and Aravind do their jobs well.

Vilaiyaadu Mankatha... is energetically picturized in a club setting and the trumpet sound from the number serves as a background score at many places. Its a surprise that Kannaadi Nee..., the best number in the soundtrack, isn't picturized on Ajith and Trisha. Instead they get Vaadaa Bin Ladaa..., which does manage to look different with all the remodeling going on in the background. Machi Open the Bottle... is a good dance number while Idhu Enga Ballelakka... irritates with its placement and choreography. Yuvan has tried something different with the background score and it works well during the action sequences.