Animal review – More Violence, less substance

Ranbir Kapoor and Sandeep Reddy Vanga, the man behind Arjun Reddy have come together for Animal, which is evidently an intense action drama. The film hit the theaters today and let us see if it matches the anticipation it is carrying.

Story:

Ranvijay Singh(Ranbir Kapoor) has a hot-and-cold relationship with his father Balbir Singh (Anil Kapoor) as the later doesn’t have enough time for his son as he is busy with his business. This makes Ranvijay a crazy young disoriented Alpha man with violent behaviour.Things take a turn for the worse after the father is attacked by an opposition gang and Ranvijay turns into a rugged animal to avenge the attackers. Will his journey towards sheer destruction end on a good note? Or will it lead to self-destruction?

How did the actors perform?

Ranbir Kapoor is exceptional in the role of a violent Alpha male who is on a mission to avenge the near-fatal attack on his father. He is a proven performer and climbs one more step up the ladder with his fitting performance. Anil Kapoor is a veteran and he suits the role of a traumatised father. Rashmika Mandanna is alright in her role . Bobby Deol has delivered a menacing performance and he is a treat to watch. Rest of the actors did thier part ok..

What about the technical finesse?

Sandeep Reddy Vanga is one of the most original and intense filmmakers in Indian cinema. He pushes the envelope further with Animal. He has tapped into an unexplored side of Ranbir that no other director ever could. He extracts the very best from his cast and crew.

But the film is pretty lengthy and the prolonged presentation takes a toll on the overall viewing experience as we feel tired and exhausted by the end. More crisp narration could’ve got a better output for the film.

Music by Harshavardhan Rameshwar is excellent and his BGM is terrific with the raw and intense narrative of the film. Production values are very good and cinematography by Santhana Krishnan, Ravi Chandran is top notch too

Whats hot:

• Ranbir’s performance
• BGM
• Couple of violent scenes in 1st half
• Fight between Ranbir and Bobby
• Pre climax conversation between Father and Son

Whats Not:

• Length of the movie
• Emotion not established properly
• Lot of dragged scenes
• Might be too Violent for some
• Wafer thin story
• Cinematic liberty

Verdict: Animal is a raw and rustic actioner that is in its element as far as the presentation goes. But the lengthy runtime is a bummer. Although the core point of love hate relationship between a love lacking disoriented alpha male son and a busy businessman father is novel, the actual story line itself is wafer thin revenge drama with lot of never ending gory violence that will only cater to a particular section of audience. Movie has ample scope for editing as there are many unnecessary dragged scenes that wont add up to the story. BGM is terrific and Ranbir delivered career best performance.

Telugubulletin.com Rating: 2.25/5