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'Kalki 2898 AD' Review: A technical triumph with exciting world-building, that could have benefitted from a much stronger writing.

 


Kalki 2898 AD

OVERVIEW:

'A highly ambitious film, that remains as a solid visual spectacle rather than an emotionally relatable epic.'

There can be definitely references to Mad Max, Dune and many other dystopian kinda films, but where it all stands out is it's sincere attempt to flesh out a mythological sci-fi film. Kalki is like a film where you find overused tropes around characters but the visual marvel it manages to show infront of us overshadows it.

A Mahabharatha with Dystopian storyline is definitely a fresh and epic idea to explore and it is brought well on screen, to a very large extent. There were too many characters and too many cameos where some of them were good while others were for the hype surrounding the film.

PERFORMANCES:

Except for Amitabh Bachchan, no other character has a well etched character arc, spare it for the sparsely shown Kamal Hassan as Supreme Yaskin, who really manages to create a menacing villain. It's all Kamal Hassan's presence with some great soundtrack that makes Supreme Yaskin, a force to reckon with and the eerie nature even adds to the antagonist's menace. Prabhas was cool as a selfish bounty hunter but his jovial attitude felt a little out of place in first half, but his presence in second half was good, but it's all a Big B's show. Deepika Padukone is the soul of the story and we find her character a bit tough to emotionally connect with, but still a very nice character.

TECHNICALTIES:

The film's towering technicalities is where it all gets elevated effortlessly. From the outstanding VFX, great camera work, good action choreography and Santhosh Narayanan's soundtrack that has a mix of that ancient yet international style, the film scores heavily on this front. The film is more style, more substance but shown little. The film, primarily involving the usage of visual effects and computer created world 

WRITING AND TREATMENT:

The film, at a very basic level, has a great concept that sounds ambitious on paper and is also brought to life on screen. But everything remains only at a surface level, where none of the emotions leave any impact. You get deaths of important characters, but none of them leave any impact on you. The film comes across as a visual treat but not as a very strong tale of justice and triumph. The film suffers from too much of wastage in its first half. In its attempt to make Prabhas, a 'Star-Lord' kind of character doesnt create the needed highs.

The second part or upcoming parts will definitely be a great theatrical watch but how it manages to become an emotionally powerful epic lies in how strong it's characters are gonna get placed into.
Nevertheless, a great watch for those who wish for a unique experience.

VERDICT:

Kudos to Prabhas for still experimenting despite his Baahubali image. Nag Ashwin has a lot more to show this world for sure.


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