Film

24

Name: 24
Genre: Action, Science Fiction, Thriller
Released: 2016
Cast: Suriya, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Nithya Menen, Saranya Ponvannan, Ajay

Other titles called 24: the 2001 series (FOX).

A Tamil sci-fi thriller about a scientist protecting a time-travel device from his evil twin brother. Suriya carries a sprawling 164-minute ride through temporal loops and high-stakes action, anchored by genuine emotional stakes beneath the spectacle. It's for viewers who want their blockbusters ambitious and their twists genuinely disorienting.

TMDb rating

3.6

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy time-bending sci-fi that loves its own gadgetry, where a clever premise and a brisk, twisty chase carry you past the occasional wobble in logic.

Skip it if you want a slow, character-driven film; this one runs close to three hours and spends much of that energy on sleek action set-pieces and plot mechanics rather than quiet reflection.

What it asks of you: Settle in for a long, busy ride with few breathing spaces, where you need to keep track of two lookalike brothers and the rules of the device while the action rarely lets up.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Primer2004

A fiercely intelligent time-travel puzzle that rewards close attention and repeated viewings. Minimal budget, maximum ambition—pure ideas over spectacle, but dense with awe.

But The dialogue is deliberately cryptic and the narrative structure demands you stay sharp. Some find it exhausting rather than exhilarating.

Looper2012

Time travel as noir. A clean, propulsive plot with genuine stakes, dark humour, and one of Joseph Gordon-Levitt's best performances. Messy and visceral in all the right ways.

But The ending divides viewers sharply. Some see inevitability; others see cop-out. Violence is sudden and brutal.

The Prestige2006

Christopher Nolan's obsession machine: a thriller structured like a magic trick, with dual timelines that gradually reveal they've been tricking you all along. Endlessly rewatchable.

But The twist requires you to accept something fundamentally irrational. Second viewing is almost mandatory to grasp what happened.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from 24

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Dunkirk2017

Both films weaponize time as their central dramatic engine—not as McGuffin but as the actual shape of the story. The protagonist's relationship to forward momentum IS the plot.

Nolan's temporal experiment: three narratives at different speeds (air, land, sea) building toward a single converging moment. A war film that uses time structure itself as suspense, shot with IMAX spectacle.

But Minimal characterization and dialogue. Some viewers feel they watch machines and locations rather than people. Muddled sound design in some scenes.

Tenet2020

High-concept action filmmaking at maximum scale. Temporal inversion as a vehicle for stunning set pieces and an escalating sense of dread. Pure sensory experience.

But The plot is genuinely incomprehensible on first viewing and the sound mix is notoriously murky. Some find it exhausting rather than exhilarating.

Predestination2014

A time-travel thriller that uses its premise to construct an almost mathematically perfect narrative loop. Genuinely shocking reveals and strong performances in a lean 97 minutes.

But The twist requires suspension of disbelief around identity and causality that some find contrived rather than clever.

Source Code2011

A taut thriller about a soldier reliving the last eight minutes of a train passenger's life to prevent a bombing. Bright, kinetic, and emotionally earned despite the high concept.

But The climax involves a sentimental turn that undercuts the genre tension. Some viewers find it mawkish.

Krrish2006

Bollywood spectacle with genuine ambition: superhero origin story, time-travel subplot, and earnest emotional core. Suriya fans will recognize this register—big, colourful, unapologetically thrilling.

But The second half loses momentum and the romance subplot stalls the action. The science is pure decoration.

Inception2010

Nolan's heist film disguised as a meditation on reality and obsession. Stunning action, a perfect ensemble cast, and a mystery at its heart that lingers long after.

But The nested structure can feel like a clever puzzle that forgets to be a story. Some find the emotional core buried under ambition.

Dead Man's Switch: A Crypto Mystery2021

A small-scale thriller about a man trapped in a loop of consequences, each decision fracturing into new possibilities. Smart, paranoid, and genuinely tense throughout.

But Low budget shows in the visuals. The philosophy sometimes overwhelms the plot. Fairly bleak ending doesn't offer catharsis.

Dead Man's Switch: A Crypto Mystery poster

Kaaka Muttai2015

Another Tamil film working at the intersection of ambition and limitation, finding profound humanity within genre constraints. Both prove Tamil cinema can reach for the stars with substance.

A Tamil film about two boys chasing a simple dream, told with visual poetry and genuine heartbreak. Minimal dialogue, maximum feeling—proof that sci-fi thrills aren't the only way to move audiences.

But Deliberately paced. No action, no spectacle. Requires patience and emotional openness. The ending is tragic and offers no redemption.

Run Lola Run1998

Both films are obsessed with temporal mechanics as a way to explore whether fate or choice determines outcome. Same obsession, radically different film languages.

Three versions of the same twenty minutes, each branching on small decisions. A visual fever dream using time loops not for sci-fi explanation but for philosophical meditation: how much do our choices matter?

But Deliberately artificial and stylised. The repetition exhausts some viewers. No character development—concept overwhelms narrative.