Critic Reviews

It’s all a lot, as they say, but those with a taste for maximalism will swoon over the goods on offer here.

Kalki 2898 AD is the kind of widescreen majesty that makes the butter of your popcorn shine in the dark. There isn’t anything else like it in the movies right now, so jump right in.

Goofy, over-earnest, and just good enough where it counts, Kalki 2898 AD outdistances its competition simply by digging deeper than expected into its patchy lore’s rich melodramatic turf.

By channeling the gravitas of Western sci-fi movies, Kalki 2898 AD loses some of the range that makes Indian movies special. Its ambition is to be applauded. Its self-seriousness, not so much.

For the most part, Kalki 2898 AD is a strong epic that's certainly worth visiting, thanks to a unique genre hybridization, interesting worldbuilding, and skilled performances.

Seamlessly blending the best inspirations from sci-fi, fantasy, and Hindu epics, the film is a staggering cinematic experience — even if that experience drags toward the end.

The aggressively spectacular (and, again, CGI-intensified) action set-pieces are generously plentiful and undeniably thrilling, and the lead players are charismatic enough, or over-the-top villainous enough, to seize and maintain interest.

Ultimately, for all its wildly entertaining elements, Kalki 2898 AD feels like too much of a good thing, resembling the sort of lavish buffet meal that leaves you feeling overstuffed and exhausted. But fans of this particular style of cinema are not likely to mind.