The Animal movie starring Ranbir Kapoor was one of the biggest hits in Bollywood in the year 2023. Getting a total collection of almost 900 crores, this Bollywood movie is a banger in its true sense. But wait, why does the title say ‘Extreme Love and Hate’? It’s because of the movie’s story and the audience’s reaction to it. We will get back to this later but for now, let’s focus on this Animal movie review.
Before we begin, I want to clarify that this Animal movie review comes after I watched the movie multiple times. So, you can trust me in this review where I’ll tell you about everything good and anything that went wrong with the Animal movie. So, let’s get started!
Animal Movie Review: Everything You Need to Know
The Animal movie came with a bang and brought a lot of controversies with it. With many people accusing the movie of promoting misogyny, fans of the cast and the movie came into defense and the arguments were heated. But, keeping the controversies aside, I’d say Animal is a great movie, a typical yet very unique ‘the hero knows it all’ movie.
The movie was released on the 1st of December, 2023 and the audience showed massive support for the Ranbir Kapoor film. It not only crushed existing Bollywood records but also set a benchmark for its sequel, which we will talk about in some time.
Here, I have prepared the perfect Animal review for you but before that, you need to know a few things about the movie, such as:
- The Animal movie was released on 1st December 2024.
- Ranbir Kapoor plays the lead character in the movie.
- Bobby Deol is the antagonist in the movie and you will love his performance.
- Whether or not the Animal movie is good or bad depends totally upon how you take the movie. If we judge it purely as a piece of art, like I did, it’s surely one of the better movies released in recent years.
- The Animal movie will have a sequel too, named ‘Animal Park’.
Now that everything is said and done, let’s start the Animal movie review.
Animal Movie Plot Summary
The plot of the movie ‘Animal’ is pretty straightforward and anyone can follow it easily. A different-from-the-world protagonist who is overly obsessed with his father trying to get revenge on the, yet again, different-from-the-world villain. What is this revenge about? Well, Bobby Deol, the villain of the ‘Animal’ movie, is continuously trying to “un-alive” the hero’s father, Anil Kapoor, in the movie. Why is the villain after Anil Kapoor or say, the hero’s father in the Animal movie? To avenge his own father who had some issues with Anil Kapoor in the past.
Do you see where the story is going? The Animal movie’s plot is about revenge, hatred, and extreme love. But, from what I observed, the movie also hints at what the uncivilized world used to be like. It’s clearly evident from how Ranbir Kapoor carries himself in the movie and refers to himself as an “Alpha”. Now, let’s discuss the title that labels this Animal movie review as the ‘Extreme Love and Hate’ story.
It’s clearly shown in the movie how Ranbir Kapoor’s character, Ranvijay, loves his father and family to an extreme extent. But when it comes to those who threaten his father’s or family’s safety, he hates them with everything he has. The same was the audience’s reaction to the Animal movie, you get the connection? Some fans love this Ranbir Kapoor movie and defend it with all their might. On the other hand, some critics bash out at the cast and the movie, practically hating them. So, as seen in the movie, Animal has a love and hate story with its audience too. Now, onto the next part of this Animal movie review, we go!
Animal Movie Cast – Some Big Names and Classy Performances
The Animal movie cast consists of some great talents who gave their best performances on the screen. Not only did they make this movie so big, but also proved that Bollywood is full of underrated talent. Although the cast deserves all the praise it gets, there were a few problems that we will discuss further. For now, here are some core actors that you should focus on when watching Animal:
Ranbir Kapoor in Animal
Boy, what an actor Ranbir Kapoor is. I do not have any complaints about this person no matter what role he plays in any of his movies. Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Sanju, Barfi, Rockstar, and many more…this person just sets a new bar for himself and then breaks it with a new movie. This time, this movie was Animal. Personally, I couldn’t imagine Ranbir Kapoor in such a new look, as an action hero, and with such a violent personality. But here we are with a movie that just shattered many records and I loved it because of this guy.
Ranbir Kapoor’s character, Ranvijay, is not your typical all-good-no-issues protagonist. He’s full of flaws, makes mistakes, and has severe anger issues. But even with all these problems, you would love the character if you watch the Animal movie just as a piece of art. And nope, YOU SHOULD NOT GET INSPIRED BY THIS CHARACTER.
Bobby Deol and Abrar’s Entry Song – Certified Bangers!
The king of comebacks, Bobby Deol just obliterated the narrative that suggests you need to be on the screen a lot to be liked in a movie. His on-screen time in the Animal movie was so short, but the way he delivered his performance made him one of the key attractions of the movie. A villain who doesn’t speak, just fights and expresses it all with his face, sure, I’d like one Bobby Deol on my plate.
And since we are talking about Bobby Deol in Animal, how can we forget the iconic Abrar’s entry song? This Iranian Bandari became a sensation on the internet and is being used on social media posts even now. Do I need to mention how catchy it is? Add Abrar’s quirky dance moves to that song and you will understand why it’s so good. All in all, Bobby Deol did an outstanding job in the Animal movie.
Rashmika Mandana in Animal – A Bad Choice
To be honest, the only actress that didn’t fit well in Animal is Rashmika. It’s my personal opinion, but she is not an actress that can express herself without words. Do you understand what I mean? Let’s take the example of Deepika Padukone. She shows it all on her face, whether she’s happy, sad, angry, annoyed, or whatever it is, she doesn’t need words. Rashmika, on the other hand, just stays there, with no impact in particular, especially with her expressions.
Okay, let’s give her the liberty to use words and get through to the audience. But this is where the Animal movie team played a prank with her. For some reason or maybe technical issues, her dialogues weren’t clear, might be a mix/master problem. You can see this clearly with the dialogue exchange she had with Ranbir Kapoor just before the famous song ‘Satranga’. Now, Rashmika was left with no clear vocals in the only scene where she was the center of attraction, hard luck!
Saurabh Sachdeva As Abrar’s Brother in Animal
Saurabh Sachdeva deserves a lot more love for his role as Abid in the Animal movie. His character was so difficult to play, and yet he did such a fantastic job. I don’t see a reason why this guy is so underrated and why people are talking about everything but him. Remember what I said about Bobby Deol? Saurabh does the same, he leaves a mark even after appearing in the movie for such a short period of time.
He delivered enough emotions as Abrar’s brother but also stayed cool throughout the movie. If I were to choose my top 3 favorite characters from Animal, Saurabh’s Abid would surely be one of them, and you know the other two 🙂
Full Cast of the Animal Movie
Apart from the obvious stars of the movie, there were many actors who made Animal such a big success. Here is the full cast of the Animal movie:
- Anil Kapoor as Balbir Singh
- Tripti Dimri as Zoya Riaz
- Charu Shankar as Jyoti B. Singh
- Prithviraj as Asrar Ul Haque
- Shakti Kapoor as PK Mishra
- Prem Chopra as Dalbir Singh
- Suresh Oberoi as Rajdheer Dodamal Singh
- Siddhant Karnick as Varun Pratap Malhotra
- Saloni Batra as Reet Singh Malhotra
- Anshul Chauhan as Roop Singh
- Upendra Limaye as Freddy Patil
Animal Movie Review: The Storyline
We have talked about the movie’s plot, but its storyline is yet to be discussed, right? Apart from the whole revenge thing between Ranvijay and Abrar, there are many minute details that add a lot to the story of the Animal movie. For instance, there’s a constant sense of dislike between Ranvijay and his brother-in-law, his elder sister’s husband. Moreover, the movie revolves around Ranbir Kapoor’s character and his love for his father, Balbir Singh, but the father in question is not a good one and has always been neglecting his son. Furthermore, Ranvijay asks his distant cousins for help to fight against the threat to his father and family, and it adds some funny characters to the movie.
With so many things going on in the movie, it gets really interesting to see how the events turn out to be and what will happen next. This is one of the many reasons why I liked this movie.
The Action Scenes in the Animal Movie
I’ll keep it short – the action sequences in the Animal movie are pretty mediocre. The cast has tried its best to make those scenes flashy but, this time, they failed. Although, I must say that the last exchange of blows between the two brothers was something fresh. I personally liked that one moment when Abrar’s brother mentions that his brother can’t speak, and Ranvijay’s brother replies by saying that his brother can’t listen well, all while the two brothers are having a brawl, that was funny.
Conclusively, if your preference is an action movie, I’d suggest not having high hopes for Animal. It’s more of a drama movie and it delivers that well.
The Protagonist in the Animal Movie – A Different Approach to Heroism
Most Bollywood movies depend totally upon the protagonists. If they are good, the movies turn out to be great too. The same is the story of the movie ‘Animal’. Ranbir Kapoor’s character, Ranvijay, is overly obsessed with his father and would go to any extent to keep him happy and safe. Not just that, but he has a big fat ego that won’t be satisfied until and unless he gets his way, one way or another. More than anything, his fans love the attitude he shows in the story. Although we should never be like that character, Ranbir Kapoor, being such a great actor, made us love Ranvijay too. It’s very unconventional for a movie’s hero to have these many problems and still get liked by everyone, such is the power of a great artist.
Animal Movie Review: Some Big Problems
Was Animal a great movie? Yes. Was it perfect and flawless? Nope. There are a few things that I did not like about this movie and they could have been better. Again, this is my personal opinion and it can be totally subjective. I have mentioned some things that I found underwhelming in the Animal movie right below:
The 2nd Half of the Animal Movie
To be honest, the second half of the movie was pretty mediocre compared to what we got to see in the first one. The first half of the Animal movie introduced us to the plot, the drama, the protagonist, built up great hype, and then the second half was just underwhelming. Don’t even get me started on the entire love triangle and cheating thing, it was a bit unnecessary and also brings us to our next point.
Tripti Dimri and Her Role – Why?
Tripti Dimri is probably one of the most talented actresses in the modern Bollywood. Her movies like Qala and Bulbbul establish that Tripti is not someone you could easily sideline in a movie. And yet, in Animal, Tripti was nothing more than some unimportant side character. Nowhere do I mean that her acting in the movie was bad, but she was chosen for the wrong role. She could have done so much more in the movie but the producers/directors decided something else for her. Honestly, her fans would have been very disappointed to see her in this role.
The Controversial Problem with Animal
How can we forget the biggest problem that led to countless controversies? Animal is a great movie, you can clearly see how happy I am in this movie review. But, this does not change the fact that yes, women were not treated nicely in this movie at all. True, Ranvijay was to be portrayed as an animal, so his treating his wife this way could at least be seen as a single-man problem. But then we get to see how his father and Abrar, and even his brother-in-law treat their women. Does the movie deliberately try to teach such things? Nope, not as far as I know. But does this have the potential to mislead others into doing something wrong? Yes, and it’s very dangerous.
This is why I ask everyone to watch the ‘Animal’ movie only and only as a mode of entertainment and nothing else. We get influenced by the movies and people we see on our screens. This is why many youngsters copy their favorite movie and web series characters. If these characters are good, no problem. But when they end up following some wrong movie characters, that’s when the problem starts.
Animal’s Post Credits Scene
Bollywood movies usually don’t do well with their post credit scenes. What about Animal? It was pure goosebumps! The way this new character, Abrar’s brother finishes off two of Ranvijay’s cousins and introduces himself as a more ruthless version of his brother was just *chef’s kiss*. The thrill just doubles when you get to know that he had plastic surgery and now looks just like Ranbir Kapoor, wow! Although this concept is not very new, it will be very interesting to see the story unfold. The ‘Animal’ movie’s post credit scene gave us a teaser of the movie’s sequel, Animal Park. This sequel will probably be just as good if not better than the original Animal movie.
Now, hold your horses; Animal Park’s shooting will start in 2025 and we won’t get to watch it anytime soon, so the wait will be very long. But with movies like Bahubali, KGF, Pushpa, and Salaar, this is nothing new for us Bollywood fans, right?
So, this is the entire Animal movie review from my end. As I said multiple times, I just loved this movie and had some problems with it, everything mentioned above. Frankly speaking, this movie was made and delivered well, which is not as easy as it sounds. I have tried covering almost all aspects in this Animal movie review. If you think that I missed out on anything or have any feedback for me or the movie, please drop it all in the comments section below.
That’s all for this time, make sure that you check out some more Bollywood blogs: