Kingdom Review: Vijay Deverakonda shines in a visually grand film that misses out on the much-needed highs

Kingdom Review: Vijay Deverakonda gives one of his best performances in this rustic action drama. While the film is high on style and visuals, there are no standout moments that create an impact.

Kingdom Movie Review

Kingdom Story

Suri (Vijay Deverakonda) is a police constable who is sent on a special mission to Sri Lanka to bring back a dreaded criminal, Siva (Satya Dev). The twist in the tale is that Siva is Suri’s brother who had gone missing during his childhood. On arriving in Sri Lanka, Suri finds out that his brother has bigger issues with the mafia and has his own tribe that he needs to save. The rest of the story is about how Suri takes things into his hands and saves the entire clan.

Kingdom Review

Kingdom has been written and directed by Gowtam Tinnanuri of Jersey fame. As he has a reputation for narrating films with solid emotions, there was solid hype around this film. But sadly, Kingdom does not live up to all the hype created. Kingdom has scale and style, but it misses out on the much-needed emotions in the narrative.

Vijay Deverakonda is seen in an author-backed role and carries the film on his shoulders, but sadly, the rest of the act does not come together. The first half of the film and the emotional content are established well, but things falter in the second half.

Kingdom was promoted as a rustic action drama, but sadly, the action is not up to the mark. There is no proper conflict in the film despite the brother’s bond, and that is also not executed well in the narrative.

The script has many logical errors, and the biggest drawback is the lack of a strong opponent for Vijay in the film. Kingdom delves into various aspects, but it does not highlight any one of them in a meaningful manner.

One of the biggest questions, why the character of Siva does not come back to his family and why he chose to become a part of a special tribe are not answered properly. The emotions are ordinary, and all the expectations pinned on the film do not deliver.

Coming to the performances, Vijay Deverakonda breathes life into the role of Suri. After Arjun Reddy, Kingdom is Vijay's best performance to date. Be it the look or the intense emotions, he carries the film on his shoulders. Vijay was extremely good in the scenes with Satyadev and gives a riveting performance. If not for him, things would have been even worse in the film.

Also Read: Kingdom box office opening prediction: Vijay Deverakonda’s film likely to surpass Kuberaa, Kannappa and Thandel

Satyadev plays a key role and is terrific. In a few scenes, he even dominates Vijay with his intense looks and solid emotions. After a long time, he gets a solid role, and he impresses. Bhagyashree Borse is hardly there in the film and has only two scenes.

Malayalam actor Venkitesh makes a terrific Telugu debut and is the showstopper. Though he gets limited screen presence, the young actor stamps his authority on the proceedings. Rajkumar Kasireddy and others do well in the setup.

Kingdom works to an extent mainly because of Anirudh's background score. Though the proceedings are dull, Anirudh's BGM elevates things to another level, and he is the heart and soul of the film. Technically, Kingdom is a brilliant film as it has great visuals and amazing production design.

Shot mostly in Sri Lanka, the camerawork that showcases the island and the crime setup are very good. The dialogues and editing are also okay. But when it comes to the screenplay, things do not create an impact. As there were a lot of expectations for the emotional moments in the film, only a few work, and this spoils things.

Yet another major aspect of the film is the slow pace. How the world-building takes place eats up most of the first half. Gowtam Tinnanuri's attempt to showcase the story of two brothers with a mafia backdrop looks good in the beginning, but when it needs to peak, it does not. The pressure on the film to deliver was so much that the audience constantly looked for the highs, which are missing a bit in the action drama.

Kingdom Verdict

On the whole, Kingdom is an ambitious action drama that is high on performances and visuals. Vijay Deverakonda is terrific, and the scale is huge. But the emotions are missing when needed the most. The hype is so much that one needs to lower their expectations and watch the film to end up liking it.

FAQs

Q. What is the budget of the Kingdom movie?

A. As per reports, the budget of Kingdom is around Rs 130 crore

Q. Will there be Kingdom movie 2?

A. As per the makers, Kingdom is first part of the planned duology, suggesting that Kingdom 2 might happen.

Q. What is the next Vijay Deverakonda movie in 2025?

A. After Kingdom, Vijay Deverakonda do not have any movies planned for 2025 release.

Q. How many songs are there in Kingdom?

A. There are only two songs and the super hit number, Hridayam Lopala has been edited out.

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