‘Kalki 2898AD’ has a simple story at heart, a tale from the future about the arrival of the tenth avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. But it is decked up in a herculean, futuristic setting for three hours that partly thrills, confuses and also exhausts the audience. An immersive experience in terms of its scale, the dystopian, mythological science fiction also has a flood of characters and cameos whose arrival and relevance are tough to keep track of.
‘Kalki’ is set more than 800 years into the future in 2898 AD. In Kasi, which is the last city on a severely resource-drained Earth, Supreme Yaskin (Kamal Hassan) rules humanity from a structure called ‘Complex’. His people seize fertile girls and SUM80 (Deepika Padukone) is one among them.

Meanwhile, the mythological Ashwathama (Amitabh Bachchan) is waiting for someone’s arrival for his redemption after ages. Another group of people, in the city of Shambhala, are also planning an assault. An unbeatable bounty hunter named Bhairava (Prabhas) is a curious character entangled in this web.
For those who love complex world-building, retelling of mythological stories on vast canvases and apocalyptic tales, director Nag Ashwin’s film can be quite a spectacle. The exceptional production standards are also breathtaking. Amitabh Bachchan has brought his A game and is the one who steals the show. Deepika’s central role is de-glam throughout, but she lends SUM80 a suiting personality. Kamal Haasan, Dulquer Salmaan, Anna Ben, Shobhana, Vijay Deverakonda, Mrunal Thakur, Rajamouli, Ram Gopal Varma… the cameo list is humongous though not with a quality follow-through for all of them.
The fight sequences between Ashwathama and Bhairava are fun, though Big B’s antics are more impressive than the rebel star’s. It’s Amitabh Bachchan who towers in this Prabhas film, more than the Telugu actor. The humour in the film falls flat almost all the time, especially in Prabhas’ sequences. The creative liberties taken by the writers are interesting, but it’s hard to feel emotionally invested or connected to any party in the story. The end credits provide hope to the franchise-hungry audience. And if you want to offer the ‘Kalki’ cinematic universe a chance, give the film a try. You might not care about the cliffhanger climax now, but what if you do when a stronger second part with a richer universe comes to life?

Summer 2024 has paled in comparison to 2023’s summer movie lineup, heavily lacking headline-grabbing blockbusters like “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” “Barbenheimer” — a fan-made moniker referring to the double feature of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” — and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.” 

Whether this lull results from the numerous Hollywood writers’ strikes last year or an industry-wide letup, audiences have to look a little bit harder to figure out what movie they want to spend their money on during their next cinema outing. 

Though Jeff Nichols’ “The Bikeriders” lacks the usual fanfare of a June release, it is every bit a diamond in the rough for this year’s prime release season.

“The Bikeriders” is inspired by a photography-collection book of the same name, which was created in the early 1960s by photographer Danny Lyon. Lyon documented the stories and personalities of the original members of the Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club, whose slightly fictionalized selves are referred to as “the Vandals Motorcycle Club” in the movie. 

As such, “The Bikeriders” is a character-driven story, led by a remarkably charismatic cast including Tom Hardy (“Mad Max: Fury Road”) as the club’s founder Johnny, Austin Butler (“Elvis”) as young upstart biker Benny and Jodie Comer (“The Last Duel”) as Kathy, Benny’s wife.

Indeed, the star-studded cast fuels the story and keeps it at a thrilling pace. “The Bikeriders” feels like taking a late-night ride on a motorcycle through the Americana melancholy of the Midwest; no one is quite sure where the destination is, but everyone is nevertheless assured that something important lies ahead. 

The reason why audience members grow so invested in such a simple story is because the people represented on screen are undeniably authentic, plucked right out of the scarce roads of rural Ohio. 

While Hardy and Butler deliver their as-to-be-expected stellar performances — and yes, Butler still kind of sounds like Elvis — it’s Comer who takes the film to an entirely different level. Surrounded by hyper-masculine bikers as Benny moves up in the club’s ranks, she continually toes the line as a suburban, sheltered housewife. 

Comer’s character Kathy is undoubtedly intriguing — part of the American in-group but always excluded from crucial decisions due to her status as a ‘60s woman. Comer portrays this dichotomy all while speaking in an overtly Midwesterner accent that brings a unique dimension to her character and places her among early candidates for the next Oscar season.

Apart from the acting, cinematographer Adam Stone drips the images in a faded sepia, reminiscent of days forgotten and nostalgic for a time period that many did not experience firsthand. While at points the story’s speedometer crosses the line into melodrama, for the most part, the story of “The Bikeriders” feels gritty, unreformed and intense — like watching a fistfight in the alley behind a bar. 

The film would certainly pair well with 2023’s late standout “The Iron Claw,” a film that follows a similar story structure and feels as though it’s set in the same aesthetic universe. 

Modern moviegoers often express desire for a film that feels distinctly genuine, and no other 2024 movie lives up to that wish more so than this year’s surprise hit, “The Bikeriders.”

Stay tuned for Kalki 2898 AD review and U.S. premiere report.

Kalki 2898 AD is releasing amid gigantic expectations, and director Nag Ashwin has taken on a huge challenge that could elevate him to the elite league of pan-India directors, if he delivers a film that opens to unanimous blockbuster talk. Stay tuned for the Kalki 2898 AD movie review and the first report from the USA premiere.

Cast: Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Deepika Padukone, Disha Patani and others

STORY – SCREENPLAY – DIALOGUES – DIRECTION: Nag Ashwin

Direction Team: Nayanatara Manchala, Sahen Upadhyay, Akhil Reddy, Srinivas Eetha, Laxman Vihari, YJ Sai Charan, Prakeerthi Uppalapati, Kumar Vamsi

DOP: Djordje Stojiljkovic
Music: Santhosh Narayanan
Additional Sound Design: Kingshuk, Anirban
Editor: Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao
Production Designer: Nitin Zihani Choudhary
Art Director: Anil Jadhav, Santosh Shetty, Velu, Rembon
Concept Art Team: Immortal Collective
Concept and Storyboard Artist: Venu Gopal
Stunts: King Solomon, Andy Long, Peter Heins, Satish, Anbariv, nick powell
Colorist: Andres Delgado, Prashant Sharma

Producer: C.Aswini Dutt
Co Producers: Swapna Dutt & Priyanka Dutt

U.S. Distributor: Prathyangira Cinemas

Kalki 2898 AD Movie Review by M9

You May Like This

Advertisement

You May Like This