The opening and ending scene of Kantara is nothing like you've seen before. The way they wrote the mythological background was so good. But those are limited to the opening scene and climax. What happens in between is the overtold story of the rough hero who gets into trouble for his locality, his love interest and the conflict in the name of their place.
I can't believe they still write characters like Sreevalli and Leela. In the very first scene in which Leela is introduced, the hero straight up physically assaults her. There are other ways to write a romance, you know? No matter how progressed these movies become. They just can't get the female characters right.
The screenplay, direction cinematography, stunts, artwork and acting are pretty great. The screaming could've been dialed down a bit. The repeated screams might give you a headache. Rishab Shetty's performance in the climax is hands down one of the finest work I've ever seen in a Kannada movie. He handled something that could've gone very wrong really well.
It's theater material. Each person is different. This review is my opinion. Watch it in theaters and decide for yourself. Movies like these are made for theatres.