Animal directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga is a mediocre mess. Now the technical aspects of this movie are really well done from the background score to the production design to the cinematography. The fight scenes are adrenaline boosters and despite being 3 1/2 hours long it is very engaging thanks to it's action.
Aside from some good elements the movie largely falters in many aspects. The movie tries too hard to tell a story about the love between a father and a son however it all gets lost amidst the yelling, shooting, slashing and slicing. It feels like the story is trying to juggle too many plot points at once with a lot of it feeling underdeveloped. The pacing is atrocious. It goes from being a fast-paced story in the first act and then slows down so heavily during the second-act with some character interactions being too lengthy and could've been easily cut.
Speaking of the characters, Ranbir Kapoor gives a phenomenal performance as Vijay however his character goes through abrupt shifts without much of a context. His father Balbir Singh, played fabulously by Anil Kapoor, is the only other character that gets some character development. Aside from the two Kapoors, all the other characters are boring and one-dimensional. Rashmika Mandanna gives a very weak performance as Gitanjali, whose only purpose is to get yelled yet by her husband without having much importance to the story. The villain or the villains aren't threatening enough and Tripti Dimri was boring but atleast she served somewhat of a purpose in the story.
The emotional core of this movie is the relationship between Vijay and his father Balbir which only comes towards the end of the movie. The movie does a pretty good job at setting up their relationship in the beginning but then it all narrows down to constant yelling in which the real motive of the story is drowned out.
Even though the action is pretty good it is overly violent with some scenes being extremely unsettling and distrubing to look at. Plus the protagonist is shown to be really misogynistic at some points.
Overall Animal shines through it's technical achievements and some great performances from Ranbir Kapoor and Anil Kapoor, but falters heavily when it comes to telling a cohesive story. And if you're someone who cannot handle violence and gore, pls refrain from watching it.
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