Kanguva Review

Kanguva has been in the making for a long time now. Featuring Suriya in a lead role, the action drama has now been released in Telugu states. Siva directs this film which has been produced by Ganavel Raja. Read our review here.

Story

Bounty Hunter Francis (Surya) is in Goa in the year 2024. A boy named Jeta (Nandan) becomes a witness while dealing with a case. Whenever Francis sees the boy, he feels like he doesn't know anything about him. Francis' team is shocked when Russian soldiers enter the field. Meanwhile, in the year 1070, Kanguva (Surya) foils a plot hatched by the Roman army to acquire Pranavadi. However, they now have to face the powerful Cranial class (Bobby Deol & Co.). What role does Zeta play in this Cold War? What is the connection between the boy and Kangua/Francis? Why does the original Russian gang target Zeta? Who will lead this army? The answers to these questions unfold in the film Kanguva.

Analysis

Vijay Sethupathi's recent film Maharaja is a great example of how to merge two different timelines without confusing the audience. A crime drama like that was executed wonderfully, making it clear how a period action drama like Kangua should have been made. Unfortunately, Kangua failed to fully immerse the audience in its world.

Director Shiva seems to have drawn inspiration for the story of Kangua from The Last Witch Hunter. Despite this, he succeeded in freshly presenting Suriya. The writing of the 1070 episodes, which connect well with the mass audience, is also commendable. However, the 2024 episodes are not as effective. Specifically, the Suriya-Disha Patani combination doesn’t work at all, and their scenes together lack chemistry.

Suriya has come to life in the film. His characterization of Francis lacks depth, but as Kanguva, he delivers a heroic performance. His physical effort to appear as a savage fighter is visible on screen, and he impresses with his emotional acting. In the 1070 sequences, Suriya's performance in each scene keeps the audience engaged. Bobby Deol has been underutilized in the film. The major drawback is that the villain's character is developed solely through looks, without any significant characterization.

Yogi Babu and Redin Kingsley’s comedy scenes might not entertain the Tamil audience much. In Telugu, it didn’t work at all. Similarly, Disha Patani impressed with her bikini appearance in a song, but as an actress, she doesn't offer much. Karthi also delivered a great performance in a small guest role, especially in the 1070 sequence, where his performance added a strong finish to the film.

Devi Sri Prasad has once again proven his talent with the songs and background music. The songs are quite impressive, and the background score, especially for the fight scenes, stands out. This marks Devi Sri Prasad’s successful comeback as the music director. Vetri Palaniswami's cinematography is another highlight of the film. While some of the action sequences aren’t elevated due to graphics, the way the fight scenes in the snow hills are shot will impress the mass audience.

Verdict

Overall, Kanguva has great visuals, a stellar act by Suriya, and some decent emotions. But the pacing is slow, lengthy and the climax is forced. If you go in with low expectations, Kanguva has some moments of glory to be given a shot on the big screen.