Brahmastra: A Subpar Start To The Astraverse

Brahmastra Part 1: Shiva, dazzles with VFX yet still falls short of mainstream expectations.

The Brahmastra

Brahmastra: Part One - Shiva is the start of what seems to be an imaginative universe, mixing Indian mythology and modern culture, producing a hybrid film, something we see all too often with current Bollywood movies. This first movie of a three-part series focuses on an individual named "Shiva," as the title suggests, who discovers a hidden power within him that he must now live with and decide how he acts upon this discovery. Such a plot isn't anything we haven't seen countless times before, whether that is Hollywood or Bollywood.

Expectation Vs. Reality

Though the plot is the least bit unique, it is still full of potential or at least that's what many thought. Brahmastra had gained quite some hype given the high-quality trailer, solid casting, and massive budget. Doesn't that sound familiar...Netflix! And as we know, Netflix loves to blow through tons of resources only to leave us with sub-par films. Luckily we can actually see Brahmastra's budget put to good use seeing the insane VFX, nothing like any other Indian film out there. However, that's where the good qualities of this film end. The first half of the film was "alright" and nothing more, while the second half of the movie was simply a drag. It was a classic case of a movie being over 2 hours long when it could have done much better being cut short. If you go into this movie with high expectations, the reality will be disappointing.

Future Series

We are already aware that there will be two more movies to follow this in what is called the "Astraverse." Recently, many directors and story writers have started building their own universes in Indian cinema, such as the K.G.F universe and Lokiverse, with this being the new addition. With the other two mentioned have been immense successes, but I am not so sure with the Astraverse. I was honestly hoping for some sort of twist/turn or cliffhanger at the end of Part 1 giving some kind of lead into what's coming next, only to be left disappointed. I don't have much hope for the following movies that are coming up, assuming their scripts had already been finalized, but who knows? All these reviews and opinions may lead the director to implement some changes while keeping what was already well done such as the VFX and choice of casting.

Closing Critiques

Overall, Brahmastra is another film that had high hopes, could have done amazing with the hype they had, and unfortunately ended up not meeting those expectations. I still think people should go watch this film, but not have high hopes. Someone who goes to this film not knowing anything about it nor even viewing the trailer will be pleased to some extent. On the contrary, someone like me who looks deep into any movie before watching it, will not have anything more than an average Bollywood movie experience.

Raving Rating: 5.6