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Akhil Arora
Tomatometer-approved critic
Biography:
Akhil Arora interviews the likes of Christian Bale and Anurag Kashyap, covers series premieres and service launches across the world, and looks at blockbusters and independent dramas from a global socio-political and feminist perspective. As a Rotten Tomatoes-certified film critic, Akhil has reviewed over 150 movies and TV shows in over half a decade.
Publications:
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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CTRL (2024) |
[Ananya] Panday is by herself, staring into a camera, and there are no supporting aids. That places an enormous amount on her shoulders, and she delivers. […] Annoyingly, the film around her falters to such a … degree that all the good work is washed off. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Oct 05, 2024
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Sector 36 (2024) |
Sector 36’s cop … bumbles across the film—he doesn’t have any inkling of what an investigation involves, he ignores key suspects for long stretches, and material evidence literally falls into his lap more than once. It’s mind-bogglingly maddening. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Sep 13, 2024
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Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba (2024) |
Taapsee Pannu and Vikrant Massey return in the first sequel to an Indian Netflix original movie that struggles to justify its existence. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Aug 09, 2024
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The Instigators (2024) |
Thanks to the dynamic between its leads, the support work of a colourful extended cast, and the pacing maintained by directed by Doug Liman, The Instigators proves to be a very funny heist comedy. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Aug 09, 2024
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Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) |
All the jokes about its new setting (in Marvel’s world) and the lovey-dovey X-Men fan service cannot overcome the fact that Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are hacking about without a solid purpose. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Jul 25, 2024
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Wild Wild Punjab (2024) |
[No] matter what turns it takes, the Netflix movie is devoid of fun. Wild Wild Punjab is unable to juice out thrills from even the most basic ingredients, be it a car chase, a panicky shootout, or getting stuck on a railway track. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Jul 10, 2024
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Maharaj (2024) |
Junaid Khan makes his debut in a Netflix movie that tackles blind faith and abuse of power. But what could’ve been a 19th-century #MeToo story is a typical Bollywood male saviour project. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Jun 21, 2024
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Inside Out 2 (2024) |
It’s growing up like its human protagonist. Thanks to Anxiety—the best new addition—Inside Out 2 leaves its old sense of self behind. But it’s an expansion, not an evolution. It knows it cannot top its predecessor. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Jun 14, 2024
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Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) |
An all-action over-the-top blast from start to finish, be it the acting or action, Mad Max: Fury Road offers the briefest of quiet moments in between. Yet, it knows how to be both tender and epic. The finale is thrilling… - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted May 31, 2024
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Mad Max (1979) |
At times more horror than action, the Mad Max movie that started it all is quite sinister. The editing style, the sound effects, the background score, and the shot composition are all testament to that. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted May 31, 2024
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Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981) |
The worldbuilding is possibly its biggest accomplishment, as you can start to see the elements of the wasteland take shape. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted May 31, 2024
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Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) |
The second sequel—the third chapter overall—is a very different Mad Max movie than the first two. It’s kooky and a bit extra. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted May 31, 2024
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Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) |
Most importantly, it passes the baton to a new generation quite seamlessly, with its new cast of characters largely expanding rather than contracting. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted May 31, 2024
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Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) |
The second half is where the middle chapter of the original trilogy gets good. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted May 31, 2024
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Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) |
[There’s] a charm to the simplicity, be it the cantina, the low-IQ Stormtroopers, or the film’s structure itself. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted May 31, 2024
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Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) |
Hellbent on taking itself way too seriously, it’s less than the sum of its parts. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted May 31, 2024
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Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) |
It takes 80 minutes for Return of the Jedi to kick in when Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Darth Vader meet again. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted May 31, 2024
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Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) |
It’s also too wayward and listless—there’s little plot and the film waits to find plot elements. Despite a split narrative and promising political parallels (to the days of Caesar), it simply doesn’t have enough to grab your interest. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted May 31, 2024
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Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) |
The Phantom Menace fails on virtually every front. It features curiosities like Anakin’s implied virgin birth, [Liam] Neeson running around calling him “the chosen one”, and spouting nonsense about midi-chlorians (unnecessary exposition about the Force). - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted May 31, 2024
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Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) |
The scene was filmed over 78 days—across a five-month period—and needed nearly 200 seconds-long shots. It’s the glorious pinnacle of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted May 23, 2024
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Atomic Blonde (2017) |
The fight on the staircase, a single take that lasts several minutes, is a particular highlight. It draws humour from the violence, too, and James McAvoy is having a ball as an unhinged operative. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted May 11, 2024
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John Wick (2014) |
Unrefined, stilted, and rough in places, the film’s leanness and coherent action can’t make up for the fact that Keanu Reeves is close to wooden and doesn’t offer much as an actor. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted May 11, 2024
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The Fall Guy (2024) |
Filmmaking can be incredibly complex but sometimes, all you need are two beautiful people who light up the screen together. Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt are proof. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted May 02, 2024
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Challengers (2024) |
In what is easily his lightest and most accessible film yet, [Luca] Guadagnino takes primal human emotions—attraction, jealousy, failure, betrayal, despair, and sacrifice—and turns them into something endlessly fascinating. Game, set, match. Applause. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Apr 27, 2024
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Rebel Moon: Part Two - The Scargiver (2024) |
The sequel … ought to benefit from a defined focus but mucks it up with frivolous scenes, the worst possible dialogue, and by routinely prioritising exposition over its horridly underdeveloped characters. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Apr 19, 2024
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Amar Singh Chamkila (2024) |
Imtiaz Ali’s call for artistic freedom—and the price you must be willing to pay—doesn’t always have the power or focus it needs. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Apr 12, 2024
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Damsel (2024) |
[This] … entirely self-serious tale—there isn’t a bone of humour in Damsel—has little to say and even less to show. I kept waiting for the film to kick in, to usher me into what it promised and wow me with its action, but that moment never arrived. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Mar 08, 2024
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Dunki (2023) |
After a decade and a half of not really caring and producing the same garbage, [Karan Johar showed] that he can actually do it if he wants to. [On Dunki, Rajkumar Hirani is] so far gone that there’s no redemption possible with any frame in this movie. - The Long Take Podcast
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| Posted Mar 06, 2024
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All India Rank (2023) |
I feel like whenever this movie could not probe deeper beyond, in terms of a scene, it tended to jump into like a “Let the background music or song tell you about the emotions while the characters [will] just mingle and go about their day.” - The Long Take Podcast
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| Posted Mar 06, 2024
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Dune: Part Two (2024) |
It feels more confident [as] he’s benefiting from the fact that he’s done the hard work. He’s set up the lore and the backstory in the first movie. The exposition of like “Oh, look at how this spaceship works. [...] This is why Arrakis is important.” - The Long Take Podcast
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| Posted Mar 06, 2024
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Bhakshak (2024) |
Unable (or unwilling) to craft scenes that could get their point across, [the writers] give into grandstanding, over and over. […] Bhakshak is packed with pithy virtue-signalling dialogues. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Feb 09, 2024
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Salaar: Part 1 - Ceasefire (2023) |
Everyone thinks they are delivering the best work of their career but they are actually delivering the worst … It's so lazy [in every department.] - The Long Take Podcast
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| Posted Jan 23, 2024
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Tiger 3 (2023) |
Emraan Hashmi delivers the best performance of the movie … [but Tiger 3] suffers from Salman Khan being in it [as he] is incapable of doing certain things or has no desire. - The Long Take Podcast
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| Posted Jan 12, 2024
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12th Fail (2023) |
[The movie loves romanticising struggle and is] willing to glorify everything and be like keep struggling — his motto is 'repeat, repeat.' What do you mean [by] repeat? For what objective? To what end? - The Long Take Podcast
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| Posted Jan 04, 2024
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Kho Gaye Hum Kahan (2023) |
As much as I appreciate the existence of Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, given its authenticity and the rarity of films in the urban millennial milieu, it’s unfortunately half-baked and a disappointment. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Dec 27, 2023
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The Archies (2023) |
The Archies is sugary and fluffy, just like cotton candy. Sure, it has a few bones to pick and some topics to tackle, but it has little interest in scratching below the surface. No wonder then that it loves pivoting to songs—there are 11 (!!) of them. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Dec 07, 2023
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The Marvels (2023) |
Sure, there’s spurts of enjoyable banter between this new trio … but there’s alarmingly little dramatic material to make it a substantial film. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Nov 11, 2023
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Against the Tide (2023) |
A poignant look at the struggle for a sea-based livelihood through the lens of those trying to uphold the traditional ways even as humanity plays havoc with nature. In contrast, others desperately embrace the future to not be left behind. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Nov 04, 2023
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In the Rearview (2023) |
The camera is simply turned on the victims and passengers in the backseat, who attempt to process what the war means for them. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Nov 04, 2023
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Fallen Leaves (2023) |
With deadpan humour, mundane setting, and idiosyncratic characters, we are presented with a gloomy view of life at the bottom in Finland, amidst the ominous news of warfare in a neighbouring country and feeling like you could be next at any moment. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Nov 04, 2023
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Beyond Utopia (2023) |
A distressing showcase of the journey North Korean defectors must put up with, from surviving the horrors within to navigating the dangers outside before they can truly find their freedoms. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Nov 04, 2023
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Our Body (2023) |
What begins as a no-holds-barred look at the myriad medical problems faced by women … turns into a sobering look at life itself, when the director becomes a part of the story. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Nov 04, 2023
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Green Border (2023) |
A harrowing depiction of what refugees running from war and strife must put up with in so-called civilised and progressive Europe, with an epilogue laying bare the continent’s racist double standards. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Nov 04, 2023
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Anatomy of a Fall (2023) |
An exploration of how isolated moments and other small things can stack up to present a warped view of reality. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Nov 04, 2023
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Four Daughters (2023) |
As the actresses help recreate the life the family had, it turns into a sobering look at parenting, siblinghood, and ingrained patriarchy. Extremely powerful. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Nov 04, 2023
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The Dark Knight (2008) |
It doesn’t matter how many superhero movies its crosstown rival makes; it’ll never match the brilliance that Nolan delivered the same year Marvel began its infinite project. Firing on all cylinders … this is the most complete film Nolan has ever made. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Oct 17, 2023
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Memento (2000) |
Memento places you in the mind of the protagonist in a fascinating way—by running it in reverse, you only know as much as the protagonist remembers—and that constantly makes you question what you’ve been told and what you see next. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Oct 17, 2023
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Inception (2010) |
There are thrillers, and then there are thrillers. Gripping every second and couching its pages of exposition in the smartest way possible, Inception is original filmmaking at its finest. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Oct 17, 2023
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Batman Begins (2005) |
This is the moment Nolan began to establish his blockbuster tendencies: dynamic camera movement, rich cinematography, and heavy use of a majestic background score. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Oct 17, 2023
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Dunkirk (2017) |
Immerses you in war because it’s so stripped down, with Nolan wanting you to feel what the British soldiers are going through. - AkhilArora.com
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| Posted Oct 17, 2023
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