Review : Animal – A wild action drama

Ranbir Kapoor and Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal created a tremendous buzz with its trailer and other promotional content. The result is visible in the advance bookings, which are earth-shattering. Today, this gangster action drama has hit the silver screens. Let’s see whether or not this biggie has lived up to the hype.

Story:

The movie is about Ranvijay Singh Balbir (Ranbir Kapoor), who goes to any length to protect his father, Balbir Singh (Anil Kapoor). Ranvijay Singh adores his father extremely, but the same love isn’t reciprocated from the other side as Balbir Singh is too occupied with his business empire. Ranvijay falls in love with Geethanjali (Rashmika Mandanna), and he starts staying with her. All of a sudden, an attack happens on Balbir Singh. How Ranvijay Singh goes all out to protect his father forms the crux of Animal’s story.

Plus Points:

It is difficult to imagine any other actor in Ranbir’s place in Animal. Such is the sheer brilliance shown by the star actor. The characterisation of the protagonist is very wild, and it requires a mountain of conviction to pull off such a role. Ranbir goes all guns blazing and delivers a stellar performance. Even if you are not a fan of Ranbir, you will come out of the theaters as one, especially after that extraordinary conversational scene in the climax.

The first half of the film is highly engrossing. Despite a lengthy runtime, the first hour manages to hook us. Be it the character developments, staging of action sequences, and high moments, everything worked pretty well. The interval sequence is where the film reaches its peak. It is superbly shot, and the terrific background score by Harshavardhan Rameshwar lifts the spirits up.

Rashmika Mandanna did her part well, and her chemistry with Ranbir is excellent. The Telugu dubbing is extraordinary, and not even once would we get a feeling of watching a dubbed film. Especially Vasu, who dubbed for Ranbir, did an extraordinary job. The songs are amazing as well, and the Telugu lyrics are neatly written. Anil Kapoor, Tripthi Dimri, Suresh Oberoi, Siddharth Karnick, and others did a good job.

Minus Points:

Like Arjun Reddy and Kabir Singh, there are many bold and crazy scenes in Animal, too. Here in Animal, Sandeep Reddy Vanga takes the wildness a few notches higher, which will surely raise many eyebrows. There are multiple scenes in the film which will surely stir a discussion.

There is a lot of depth in Ranbir’s character, which makes him behave in a peculiar manner in the second hour. The title is justified as Sandeep shows the psyche of the protagonist. This doesn’t happen very often in the mainstream cinema. These tonal shifts in the latter half is not something that will work with everyone. Especially, the mass audience may not connect to a few portions in the second hour.

While Sandeep Reddy Vanga took extreme care with regard to Ranbir’s character, he didn’t do the same with Bobby Deol’s role. The character is underdeveloped, and hence, the face-off in the pre-climax lacks the punch. Too much usage of English might cause irritation at times. Also, the movie becomes predictable after a point.

Technical Aspects:

Every song is very good and shot well. The cinematography is neat. The action set pieces are nicely curated. Harshavardhan Rameshwar’s scintillating background score raises the impact of many scenes. The editing could have been better in the last hour, and a few scenes could have been chopped off.

Coming to the writer-director, Sandeep Reddy, he delivered an unconventional action drama. The first half is very good, and it appeals to everyone. But the drama part between Ranbir and Rashmika in the second half and the underlying reasons for their conflict aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. A few sections might hate it, too. The story isn’t new, but it is the characterization of Ranbir that makes the film different.

Verdict:

On the whole, Animal is an intense action drama that appeals to a section of the audience. The first half has universally appealing content, but the tonal shifts in the second half might not be liked by all. The bold content and excessive violence might cause a stir among a few. Ranbir Kapoor gave an award-worthy performance, and he is the heart and soul of Animal. The technical aspects are solid in Animal, but Bobby Deol’s characterization could have been written better. If you like films that are unconventional and high on heroism, then you can watch Animal.

123telugu.com Rating: 3/5

Reviewed by 123telugu Team

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