Kanguva Review: Suriya’s superb performance let down by weak writing and narration
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Present meets past in Kanguva, a fantasy period film featuring a fresh combination: Tamil star Suriya and director Siruthai Siva. Suriya’s every role raises the bar, with his acting caliber and versatility consistently thrilling audiences. Siva, known for high-octane action and celebrating heroism, brings his signature style to this ambitious project. With a reported budget of ₹350 crore, Kanguva promised to be an epic, never-before-seen experience. Alas, it couldn't deliver on the promise.
The plot
In the 2024 timeline, we meet Francis Theodore (Suriya) who is a bounty hunter and his rival in this business is Angelina (Disha Patani). One day, he meets a young boy with whom he shares this innate connection and we are taken back to 1070. Meet Kanguva or Kanga, a fierce and fine warrior who is the leader of his people of Perumachi. Kanga will do anything to protect his people and when his village is under attack by the Romanians who take the help of terrifying villain Udhiran (Bobby Deol). Their clash and connect transcends to present day as well.
Kanguva is director Siva’s biggest film ever and the same can be said for Suriya as well. Siva is known for his mass-market, commercially-driven films, featuring larger-than-life characters and high-octane action. His films typically blend action, drama, and emotion in a way that resonates with a wide audience. Has Siva achieved this with Suriya’s Kanguva?
Action is a winner
Yes, there is plenty of action, drama and emotion in this film. Unfortunately, Kanguva is not a film that seamlessly blends the three to give us a solid entertainer at the end of two-and-a-half hours. In the first half an hour we see the Suriya of 2024 where he tries to be comical and funny but this falls flat. Then we move to the period portion of the film which is obviously a stark contrast and the main timeline. The second half of the film loses steam as well.
The entire core of the film is the emotional relationship between Francis/ Kanga and the young boy. Everything else revolves around this but the story narration is weak. The writing by Siva elevates the hero, Kanga, but doesn’t do justice to the other characters in the film including Udhiran, Francis, Angelina and the others in the period era. Siva has ensured that he has put in plenty of emotion where Kanguva is concerned (e.g the saving of a the rival’s son; the boy’s betrayal and saving him) and drama (e.g. Kanga kills an entire army by himself) but the writing is inconsistent. The director has filled the movie with so many elevation moments for the hero that the story narration takes a big hit.
Given that the movie was made on a huge budget, the technical aspects of the film are superb. The look and feel of the film, right from the costumes by Anu Vardhan to the cinematography by Vetri Palaniswamy and the art direction by Milan (who sadly passed away in 2023), showcases the rich production values… marred by a few rogue green screens. For instance, in one scene we see Suriya and Disha in a car and the background has been clearly shot with green screens and poorly integrated. Editor Nishada Yusuf (who sadly passed away in October) has used a lot of slicing techniques and cuts to keep the movie going at a fast pace. It works for the most part.
Some aspects that pull away from the movie are the excessive violence and Devi Sri Prasad's loud background music. The violence (e.g. the chopping off of a hundred hands) is just gruesome and the way the war (e.g. the ships and costumes) has been depicted on screen, reminds us of the numerous Vikings series we see on OTT platforms.
Performance report card
Suriya has outdone himself when it comes to his performance as Kanguva the warrior. He is absolutely flawless in the film and has gone above and beyond to live the roles of Kanguva and Francis. Bobby Deol is superb as the villain too but Siva has not used him to his full potential in the movie. As for Disha Patani, she doesn’t have too much to do in the film except look pretty. The young boy has done a good job too. And the surprising cameo at the end is a definite treat for the audience. The other characters (far too many) don’t make much of an impact on you as they come and go.
Kanguva has been in the making for several years and expectations were high given the producer Gnanavel Raja said it would amass ₹2000 crore at the box office. Suriya is the heart and soul of Kanguva but the film by Siva just doesn’t do justice to his performance and commitment. So, it’s best to hold off on the sequel.
