Watched Brahmāstra yesterday.
100% big-screen worthy movie. The VFX are top-notch. The BGM and songs are amazing, and it significantly elevates the scenes. They kept many songs aside to experience in the cinemas. Can't wait for the full album.
The performances were really good (except Alia). Was thrilled to see SRK after so long. Ranbir and Amitabh Bachchan were also good as usual. Nargarjuna's role was a bit less, but the fight between his Astra and the villains were one the best moments of the movie. Even Mouni Roy was surprising good. Dimple Kapadia's character was limited to just being a helicopter pilot. I hope they didn't cast her for just this and explore her character in the later movies. Alia's acting was probably the worst. It's totally opposite of what we see of her in Gangubai Kathiwadi and Darlings. Very disappointing.
As we expected/feared, the love angle was the worst thing about the movie. You could say it's the only thing holding it back. Rather than being a catalyst, it often slowed down the progression of the movie. Often ruining the moment when serious or something interesting was happening. It kind of ruins the climax as well. Otherwise it would've been a near-perfect movie.
The dialogues were another disappointing factor. It feels like it was written for kids. The random use of English words in-between the dialogues was really annoying. Looks like the dialogues were written in the initial days of production, but they forgot to update it.
The story or main plot of the film was the best thing about the film, as expected. The history of the Astras. The various godly characters. The story of why Shiva (Ranbir) has such powers. Really interesting. But it also feels like they were deliberately withholding information. They could've revealed more things, but they are probably saving it for the upcoming films.
I really hope they don't take another 10 years for the next movie, and also learn from the mistakes of this one and polish out the shortcomings.
I hope I covered most of the things. It's definitely not trash and not the best thing ever either. But it's a start. Even after all the shortcomings, it's most definitely deserves a watch in the theatres. You won't enjoy it as much by watching in OTT.
An 8/10 from me.