#Kingdom Review

#Kingdom

Telugu - 2025

Starring : Vijay Deverakonda , Satyadev, Bhagyashree Borse, Manish Chaudhary, Venkitesh and Baburaj

Directed by Gautham Tinnanuri

Plot : Suriya "Suri", a constable from a small village, sets out in search of his long-lost brother Siva, who vanished after killing their father. Impressed by Suri’s determination, a spy handler recruits him to infiltrate a notorious gang in Sri Lanka , led by none other than Siva himself. Posing as a gang member, Suri discovers that Siva now leads a community of Telugu tribals who fled India and settled on a remote island called Divi , few kms from the coast of SL . As Suri tries to convince his brother to leave behind his violent life and return home, he finds himself targeted by a powerful cartel that controls the island. Meanwhile, a tribal prophecy speaks of a savior known as “The King” who will liberate the people of Divi , raising the question is Suri the prophesied King, and will he rescue his brother or rise against the cartel forming the rest of the story.

Performance wise , Vijay D gives a career best performance as Suri. He plays the part sublty completely understanding the Protagonist's wants and limitations. A Subtle yet powerful performance since Arjun Reddy as he literally shoulders this entire film. Satyadev on the other hand is terrific as Siva. A Grey shaded character with some good intentions and Satyadev has portrayed it on point without any exaggerations. Venkitesh as Antagonist is a one note character that doesn't have anything to offer new , but a good performance. Bhagyashree Borse wasted with literally no role. Not sure whether it was written like that or the editing had chopped of majority of her scenes , it doesn't leave any impact and her scenes are forgettable. Manish Chaudhary good performance.

Technically the film is very strong. Thanks to Jomon T John and Girish Gangadharan's terrific cinematography, each and every frame looks very rich. Anirudh's Music is one more big plus. While Hridayam Lopale song is chopped from the film , the Theme and Ragile Ragile play at the right moment enhancing the sequence to its max. Editing by Navin Nooli unfortunately looks choppy , especially in the Second half where a large chunk was removed makes the tone inconsistent. Decent VFX.

The film starts off on a very interesting note with talking about the group of Tribals from Srikakulam coast and how their King who is a fearless warrior saved them from British invaders. Then cut to present where we are introduced to Suri Suriya who is in search for his brother. The intial scenes are staged and executed in a really good manner cementing on Suri's want properly and also establishing a good emotional depth to the plot. As the plot shifts to Sri Lanka , it does become a bit predictable . We are then introduced to Dr.Anu played by Bhagyashree who actually acts as a major character but unfortunately none of her scenes create any impact and are largely filler scenes. With the introduction of Satyadev the film actually takes off but unfortunately the screenplay is goes on a steady pace without any ups or downs. The Jail Sequence and the Pre Interval Brigde sequence are terrific but except that the first half goes on a leisurely pace. The Cartel sequences unfortunately remind us of Syndicate Sequences from Pushpa and lack any novelty. While the film seems like a action film , it is more of a action drama and the First half sticks to that fully.

Coming to the Second Half , unfortunately the film looses its steam and goes off track. Again the Predictability factors hit and the film literally feels like it's going on circles around the same point. The Second half two major reveals but unfortunately both of them feels very rushed and doesn't give the expected impact. Though the twist reveals were good, the impact could've been more. The Last 40 mins are terrific with a fantastic climax sequence and a bombastic Ragile Ragile song makes it a visual treat on screen. Unfortunately the editing in Second half seen to have gone for a toss. While the second half is just 1hr 9 mins roughly, seems like major chunk was edited and thus feels incomplete and rushed at times with no proper character development for few characters such as Bhagyashree or Manish Chaudhary.

Coming to Writer Director Gautham Tinnanuri, the core that he has chosen is very predictable but the mixing of two genres that is a Spy Thriller mixed with a Prophecy arc feels new and interesting but unfortunately the screenplay doesn't translate that interest fully. It is interesting in parts but as a whole the film needed tighter screenplay. Don't get fooled seeing action promos and blood filled posters thinking it is an Action film, it is a Action Drama film where Drama takes the front seat and Action takes the back , but somewhat works half bakedly.

Highlights : 

1) Pre Interval Sequence

2) Ragile Ragile Song

3) Climax Reveal

4) Cliffhanger for Part 2

Overall: Kingdom is a King Sized Drama film that is completely shouldered by a terrific in-form Vijay Deverakonda and an bombastic Anirudh but the film needed a tighter screenplay. Nevertheless a Harmless good one time watch 

Rating : 2.75/5

Digital Rights : Netflix 

Satellite Rights : Unsold