Animal‘s initial scenes are shaky. But once the characters and setting are established, it turns out to be entertaining. The song ‘Arjan Vailly’ is a masterstroke in terms of imagination and execution. The scenes 30 minutes before the interval are outstanding while the intermission point gives goosebumps. One expects the film to fly higher in the second half. Sadly, after the interval, the film drops and how. Nothing much happens and most of the best scenes are already shown in the trailer. Several sequences are problematic. This also happened in Kabir Singh but at least, those scenes in that film had a purpose. Here, these scenes are added just for the heck of it and needlessly add to the duration. This 203-minute-long film could have easily been shorter by 20 minutes. The finale isn’t as exciting as intended. Ranbir Kapoor thankfully saves the film from becoming a disaster and delivers one of the greatest performances of all time. Anil Kapoor has fewer dialogues and gives a riveting performance. Bobby Deol is superb but is shamelessly wasted. Rashmika Mandanna is decent and leaves a mark in the second half. Triptii Dimri is fair. Siddhant Karnick (Varun) is apt for the part. Charu Shankar (Jyoti), Saloni Batra (Reet), Anshul Chauhan (Roop), Shakti Kapoor and Prem Chopra don’t have much to do. All in all, Animal is strictly an okay film.
My rating – ** ½ out of 5!