Kanguva Movie Review: Suriya starrer fantasy movie suffers from a generic and over-the-top narration that denies satisfaction

The much-awaited Suriya starrer Kanguva, directed by Siva, has finally hit the theaters. Here’s the Pinkvilla review if you plan to watch it this weekend!

Updated on Nov 14, 2024  |  12:57 PM IST |  211.3K
Kanguva Review: Suriya’s phenomenal acting skills go to waste with underwhelming script
Kanguva Review: Suriya’s phenomenal acting skills go to waste with underwhelming script (PC: Studio Green, X)

Name: Kanguva

Director: Siva

Cast: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley, Natarajan Subramaniam, Kovai Sarala, Vatsan Chakravarthy, Anandaraj, KS Ravikumar

Writer: Siva, Adhi Narayana, Madhan Karky

Rating: 2.5/5

Suriya and Bobby Deol starrer Kanguva finally arrived in theaters on November 14, 2024. The Siva-directorial is a fantasy action film that features the tale of a valiant tribal leader who existed centuries ago.

Other than Suriya and Bobby, the movie also has Disha Patani playing the leading lady with an additional ensemble cast of actors like Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley, Natarajan Subramaniam, Kovai Sarala, and more in supporting roles. Here’s a Pinkvilla review for the movie to decide whether you should watch it in theaters or not!

The Plot:

Kanguva, starring Suriya, begins with depicting the tale of Francis, a bounty hunter operating from Goa, completing certain jobs for his own livelihood. During one of his bounty hunts, he starts searching for a child who reminds him of his past life.

This takes us to the life of a tribal warrior prince known as Kanga, aka Kanguva who is facing a threat from Romans who plan to vanquish his village and conquer it. In the same scenario, an opposing clan also joins with the latter to best Kanguva, setting up the rest of the story.

The film follows what connects Kanguva and Francis despite being centuries apart in life and how it is related to their future.

The Good:

The fantasy action flick Kanguva’s biggest asset is undoubtedly Suriya and his brilliant acting skills. The actor who had given a large chunk of his time towards this movie mustered up the best he could do with his abilities to save what was offered up to him.

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While Suriya plays the dual character, it was rather the period tribal warrior avatar that stood stronger in terms of characterization. Moving ahead, the technical side of the movie was greatly saved by the cinematographer Vetri Palanisamy, who has captured some visually stunning and picturesque moments in its essence, taking us to the period set-up.

While the late Nishadh Yusuf has once again proved his editing skills, music composer Devi Sri Prasad also attempted to save a sinking ship with his prowess, which hit the right notes at certain points.

The Bad:

Kanguva is surely one of the weakest movies in Suriya’s filmography over the years. The movie, when viewed for its basic plot and execution, offers quite a view into the world and its intricacies, but as the film progresses, one surely doesn’t feel the connection that was intended.

Trying to ride high on the emotional factors of the film through the convoluted sense of love and companionship, the movie fails to disappoint most of the audience. While the first half surely felt stunted with its progression, the second half tried to salvage a lot but was once again a rather misfire in many ways.

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As the movie underutilized an actor like Bobby Deol and shrink Disha Patani to just fill up the screen space, the additional cast also did not provide anything worthwhile. The jarring and cringe-worthy humor makes one suffer all the more in this movie, which was touted to be an epic period venture. The scenes make you wonder why they were incorporated into it instead of developing the world or exploring other characters.

The predictable and over-the-top screenplay, which was coupled with the poor execution, makes the film hard to watch. Additionally, the distasteful creative choices, especially the VFX not being fine-tuned, make you wonder what the makers had spent their money on.

The Performances:

Suriya is once again being mentioned here because he is the only saving grace in this movie. For an actor who is still considered to be one of the finest in Tamil cinema and who is still known for his subtlety and nuances being dealt with in such a movie, that too after 2.5 years since his last theater release is truly heartbreaking.

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Moreover, while Bobby Deol is a fine actor who often hits it out of the park with his skills, it was once again a bland screenplay that played the true villain here. Additionally, a special cameo appearance tries to salvage the film but it seems too late for it now.

Watch the trailer for Kanguva here:


The Verdict:

Kanguva, which was touted as a fantasy action movie, has left many aspects of the film unexplored. With the movie having chances of leaving even hardcore Suriya fans disappointed, it would be better to avoid the same in theaters.

ALSO READ: Kanguva Twitter Review: 9 tweets to read if you are planning to watch Suriya and Bobby Deol starrer fantasy action flick in theaters

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About The Author

Goutham S is a native of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. A writer for a few years now, particularly following Indian

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