Mirai

The story is about a negative entity getting hold of nine magical granth's (books) and succeed in his demonic endeavors. To oppose him we have our hero's and his various relations.

The story involves not one or two or three but nine magical books. The thing I did not like is the story being wrapped up with limiting number of access to these books by the demon. I mean it's hardly shown how the demon gets access to all this granth's except for the final one.

Now what I liked, the visuals are awesome the huge mythical eagle, fire, the mythical rod in itself and being turning into Lord Rams gaandiv, etc are all carved well.

Final Verdict: The story is not strong, but it's nice if you want something light minded. The movie is doing well at box office. You can give it a try.

Mirai had all the ingredients to be an epic mythological fantasy - stunning visuals, big ideas, strong cast - but wastes its potential with weak writing, laggy pacing (169 mins feels stretched), forced comedy, and underdeveloped characters. The director focuses too much on spectacle and mythology references, ignoring emotional depth and logic. Antagonist and supporting characters start strong but get sidelined. Result: a visually grand but emotionally hollow film that drags in the second half.

Verdict: 2.5/5 - "Half-baked epic." Spectacle lovers may enjoy, but story seekers will be disappointed.

The movie's immersive storytelling stems from its seamless blend of human relations, core values, spirituality, and ancient lore. The story begins with Emperor Ashoka, a historical figure, and seamlessly connects his legend of the nine sacred books. A story finding its foot equally in history, spirituality, and mythology, binding it into a religious tale you would root for, is a fantasy most stories lack.

Mirai's strongest element is its invocation of Lord Rama. The narrative takes us to the Treta Yug and the land where Lord Ram picked up his weapon for the first time; the entire plot is surreal. And suddenly the film is no longer a simple hero-versus-villain story as it turns into Dharma vs Adharma.

Talking about performances, Teja has done a fine job, and his transition from an ordinary person to a soldier looks believable. Ritika Nayak did a decent job with her performance within the limitations of her character. Shriya Saran in the role of Ambika made her experience count and made her presence felt. Jagapathi Babu and Jayaram got very important roles and both of them performed well as usual. Manchu Manoj's antagonist avatar looked far from menacing and was quite disappointing.

As a kid, when I used to see a lot of Hollywood adventure movies that infused some mythical element in the modern world, I would love watching that and would also start thinking about how awesome it would be to see stuff like that with Indian mythology. Mirai is exactly that, but maybe a bit too much of that formula, because even a lot of the stuff I used to like as a kid wasn't as great as I used to think. Now, I haven't seen Hanuman with the same actor, which seems to have followed this same formula, so this doesn't seem like it was repeating the same thing to me, but it might be the case.

When watching Kalki, I was put off by a lot of scenes of Prabhas and the kind of comedy they tried, but that movie had a lot more to offer besides that. The same issue is kind of present here, but there are a few comedy that lands, and overall it wasn't that bad, but then again this isn't as ambitious as it was either, so the toning down was at both ends.

The editing of the movie felt very clunky; sometimes there were continuity errors, sometimes it seemed like there were unnecessary cuts, and at least one dialogue definitely looked like it was muted. But after seeing a lot of issues, I started to wonder if that's an issue specifically with the Tamil dub, I'm not sure.

The way the villain is is pretty much the Killmonger Paradox; he talks about the issues with the system, his reason for retaliation is based on the right things, but then he goes way too evil for the cause to have any importance. But the way this movie presented those issues and what it represents with so little care, it almost comes off like they want to keep the unfair practices, at least they are pretty clear from the start that the whole thing is really about keeping the status quo.

Even though there were a lot of problems with it, both technically and thematically, I can't help but like it because this was something I really wanted to see as a child.

The movie offers a storyline that feels somewhat unique, though not entirely groundbreaking. The narrative begins with an interesting premise, which initially raises expectations. However, as the film progresses, particularly in the first half, the pacing feels a little slow. This lag can make it difficult for viewers to stay fully engaged, as some sequences stretch longer than necessary without adding significant value to the overall story.

The picture editing and choreography were fairly average. For audiences who enjoy films filled with expeditions or adventure-driven sequences, the choreography may feel acceptable, even enjoyable at moments. But for many viewers, these scenes do not create the energy or rhythm needed to sustain excitement. Instead, they tend to drag in places, leaving the impression that the film could have benefited from tighter editing or more dynamic direction in this area. On the other hand, the film does shine in certain technical aspects. The visuals and graphics are clearly above average, offering a polished look that enhances the viewing experience. The effort put into the visual design is noticeable, and it provides some much-needed appeal when other elements fall short. The graphics contribute positively to the atmosphere, giving the film a professional finish.

Unfortunately, the ending does not live up to the expectations built earlier. It comes across as too simple, lacking both the drama and excitement that would have left audiences with a strong, lasting impression. A more impactful conclusion could have elevated the film's overall effect.

In the end, the movie is a decent watch. While it has good visuals and a storyline with potential, the lack of energy in execution and a weak ending prevent it from being truly memorable. Overall, it's good, but not amazing.