Ik there’re dozens of post bout kgf but hear me out
Right off the bat let me admit there is some bias towards this movie cuz this was my childhood and also i grew up with this(yash used to appear on news channels talking bout his new movie kgf)
Kgf 1 was phenomenal, it was very different, rustic and raw. It does have over the top main character energy but i feel that never interferes with the plot it in no way influences the story; just there to sell tickets so ill let that cringe stuff slide. It had good story casting ananth nag as the narrator but just spot on. He had that wisdom in his voice felt like a grandpa tell tales by the campfire leaving you wondering whether the story was a legend or a true journal of his and in reality it may lie in between. Instances where he forgot a few stanzas and skipped pages made it much more believable and brought more realistic sense to the movie. Yash failing to kill and then starting a journey in the mine was good cuz the main character had his own set of challenges and none believed he would survive there. Everything he achieved there felt earned cuz they all came at a cost. The mother who died trying to pull her child away from the white line or be it the father who sacrificed himself to save his daughter or be it the old man who got killed. They all helped in establishing power dynamics of the place. Even the praisings he got came from a 3rd person in the form of a poem by ananth nag or the guy reporting young ananth nag or the kids in the movie.
Everything got woven into a single piece of elegant story when ‘huchha’ started with his narration. Imo that was the best part of the movie. It brought together the whole thing. His narration was out of the world. That scene beautifully brought the juxtaposition between blind faith and rationale. Thats when you get promoted from being audience of the movie to a character withing the movie: you start viewing the movie from the lens of 2nd person perspective. And go from hoping for the main character to rooting for him. Even the fights scenes were really good. He had setbacks or lost his cell mates or was tied down by the sheer number of guards there. I really loved what neel did with the hammer fight. He omitted details(you only see the hammer and his foot not wide angle shoot or even full body) to make it more pragmatic. Kinda like the saying less is more. And even the fight in the tunnel, the match stick added an element of uniqueness. Again omitting details of how he beats them all. Its left to the viewer. It was such a beautiful movie. And the movie culminates with yash slaying garuda. One quick sweep nothing flashy or anime-esque. Just a simple sweep yet that had so much of weight owing to the power dynamics established before. The fight sequence was not intense per se but the fight was. That gave the scene a sense of gratification. Felt like every death, every drop of blood spilled and cruelty endured was the price paid for this one scene and it reflected that emotion aptly. It was powerful
And cut to kgf 2 that shit felt like a cringe ass sigma edit reel. The character writing was not even consistent. Its not on brand when the mc talks shit bout respecting women and why he wouldnt lay hands on them and him pulling her into that mess and saying “youre my entertainment chinna” why would he even have to force when she admits likijg him in the 1st part and the same guy who brought his drunk father to his moms grave for being a shit father puts his wife through the same ordeal.(what were the writers smoking🤡)
The character writing was off, fights were really really stupid, the story felt lame too.
I feel he should really do a sci-fi movie to cement his reputation as an actor(he still a one-time hit hero). Even if it flops he’ll die as the golden knight for there has not been a single good sci fi movie in india( kalki was bad). A movie like toxic aint bringinf shit to the table even if it becomes a hit. It’ll gone witht he wind as years pass by.