The Archies

The film lacks life, grandeur and originality. The script is shallow, and the plot feels extremely stale, making the movie dull. It doesn't appeal to a culturally aware sophisticated audience. This movie might attract wannabe teenagers who doesn't know what life is outside their father's cocoon. This is not Hollywood, this is not Bollywood; this is lacking identity.

When a comic is recreated directors and actors should consider that execution of that nostalgic moments will be risky. Most of the time it ruins the original. This film, though musical was lacking that connection. So maybe the plan was to just make something for Netflix. Okay, there was one great line in the movie, to understand culture, one needs to go in, not out (of the country). Yes, then my question is is this movie in or out?

The Archies is just a movie that could & should have been avoided in the first place by NetflixIndia & by a director like Zoya Akhtar who always have been associated with the best of cinema in India, it would have saved Netflix tremendous loads of money to fund in some quality content on the lines of TVF or maybe something like Kohrra or CAT.

Story : The Archies starts with the introduction to the town of Riverdale somewhere in the Northern India which is inhabited by the Anglo Indian's(citizens with mixed Indian & European ancestors).

We are introduced to the characters of Archie Andrews(Agastya Nanda), Veronica Lodge(Suhana Khan), Betty Copper(Khushi Kapoor), Jughead(Mihir Ahuja), Reggie Mantle(Vedang Raina) & Ethel Muggs(Dot.) enjoying their respective lives in this picturesque town.

The story directly dives into the return of Veronica & her family to the town of Riverdale, all the friends uniting back, Archie Andrews stuck in a love triangle & the intentions of Veronica's father to build a big hotel in the middle of Green Park which is heart & soul of Riverdale.

Performances : I shouldn't talk about it, because everyone acted really well except the main lead characters, having such a great supporting cast with expressionless lead cast was just painful to watch & it just doesn't end at expressions, even the dialogue delivery is just really bad especially for Suhana Khan & Khushi Kapoor, Zoya it seemed had intentionally avoided taking close up shots for any of the actors.

Direction and Screenplay : The Gully Boy director has always shown us how brilliant she is with her cinema be it Dil Dhakane Do or Made in Heaven, she knows on how to engage the audiences to the screen & over here it just seemed as if Zoya was not on director's chair, bad acting, non engaging screenplay, can't imagine Zoya not noticing all this during the shooting.

The credits where due, cinematography looked terrific(especially loved the entry scene of Dot on the cycle & camera switching from rear to front), colours/sets/costumes were all perfectly done.

Music : This is a musical story and it had to have great music, while some songs are really good such as Sunoh & In Rahoon Mein, the rest feel underwhelming & this is not the expectation when you have Shankar Ehsaan Loy at the helm of it.

Good/Bads : Avoid it, save time and probabaly go & watch something worthy, the movie shouldn't have been made in the first place because The Archies has so much to it that you just can't fit all in a short runtime, the audience needs to know Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge in detail, each character needed to have their own arc for the audience to feel for them & connect with them, this is what Riverdale did in the starting seasons even though it lost the grip in last few seasons but still the audience came back in for their favourite characters.

The main leads really need to excel on their acting capabilities, dialogue delivery & this movie did not offer them anything that they could take away from their debut launch except the hard lessons.

Zoya Akhtar has a dent on her sky high filmography with TheArchies but we still know how good she can be when she wants so waiting for the next Tiger Baby production.

Suhana and Khushi's acting was just off. Their dialogue delivery was just bad. A lot of awkward pauses. I don't think Suhana had that Veronica energy at all. I felt KUSHI needed to loosen up a bit. Actually loosen up a lot. They did the musical part fine but their scenes were just super awkward. I thought Aditi Dot/Ethel acted well. Jughead, Archie and Reggie were fine too, but it was rough watching Suhana and Khushi.

The movie could have benefited from replacing SUHANA and KUSHI. Their casting felt forced. Zoya could have changed it up a bit.

The movie itself was not bad for Archie Indian adaptation, but Ronnie and Betty's acting had the quality of an Indian school annual day skit.

Not quite the quality one would expect from a Bollywood movie.

I had been an admant Archies reader and I am so sorry to say that if I have come to the conclusion that this movies is marry shellys Frankenstein Archies, I would like to see the end very same an isolated Frankenstein isolated with his creator in an abandoned island . The least Pya could have done was introduce the characters to the new audience the viewer has zero attachment to the green park, the audience has zero clue on who is Archies who is Monika who is juggerhead. Everything is so messed up if I couldn't see it half way through I am sure most have not. Over all I'll say Zoya Akhtar is solely responsible for this Frankenstein creation. Even Robert de niro looked good in marry shellys Frankenstein. Kuddos to Zoya for destroying a classic. Ban her.

"The Archies" hits a sour note from the very start, thanks to a cast that delivers performances ranging from uninspired to downright cringe-worthy. The acting, a fundamental element that could have salvaged the film, instead becomes its biggest flaw.

Lead by a once-promising ensemble, the cast of "The Archies" appears disengaged, phoning in performances that lack authenticity and emotional depth. Even the usually reliable actors fail to inject life into their characters, reducing them to mere cardboard cutouts of their animated counterparts. The chemistry between the cast members is virtually non-existent, making it difficult for the audience to invest in the relationships and conflicts that unfold on screen.

One of the film's major pitfalls is the wooden delivery of dialogue, with exchanges feeling forced and devoid of natural flow. Emotionally charged scenes that should have been poignant become cringe-inducing, as the actors struggle to convey genuine feelings. It's a painful reminder of the importance of strong performances in bringing characters to life, and "The Archies" sorely misses the mark on this front.

Even the charismatic Archie Andrews, typically a beacon of charm, is reduced to a lackluster portrayal that lacks the energy and enthusiasm associated with the character. Supporting characters fare no better, contributing to an overall lack of cohesion in the ensemble cast.

In the end, the horrible acting becomes the defining feature of "The Archies," overshadowing any potential redeeming qualities the film might have had. The lack of chemistry, authenticity, and emotional resonance in the performances ultimately leaves audiences cringing and longing for the animated magic of the original characters, rather than enduring this live-action misfire.