Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-ups

“It may be Geetu Mohandas at the helm, but it is finally, and irrevocably, a Rocking Star Yash film, with eye-glazing, endless litany of violence.”

“Yash promised a fairy tale and Geetu Mohandas gives him wings to fly in a film that takes a lot of time to decide if it is classy or massy”

“Toxic has shades of KGF, but falls short of a Hollywood-style gangster epic. The film's ambitions exceed its execution, delivering a visually stylish but narratively uneven experience.”

“Toxic is not even the fairy tale for grown-ups it promises to be. Yash does his part and remains the film’s biggest strength, but the simple story is stretched far beyond what it can sustain.”

“Yash holds the film together, but the runtime pulls it apart”

“Yash delivers the macho swagger and violence fans expect, but Geetu Mohandas' film suffers from sluggish pacing, CGI-heavy gore and a 3-hour runtime.”

“Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups Is a Lavish But Incomprehensible Action Epic Featuring Megastar Yash. A sloppy gangster epic finds Indian megastar Yash in the mood for blood.”

“Yash returns with an ambitious gangster drama centred almost entirely on his character Raya. However, strong performances, striking visuals and inventive action cannot overcome its tonal confusion and underwritten women.”

“Purely relying on Yash's aura to the point of draining him dry, Toxic doesn't have an smidgen of storytelling in its body rolling in sex, shock and sounds of bullets fired at anyone and everyone. Director Geetu Mohandas's film relies heavily on Yash's 'aura' and 'post-KGF glory', prioritising his swagger and action over narrative depth.”

“Yash delivers a fierce performance and the action impresses, but a weak screenplay and chaotic narrative hold the film back.”

“Toxic has impressive production values, striking visuals and a star-heavy cast, but the weak narrative structure, excessive violence, confusing conflicts and lack of convincing emotional depth prevent those strengths from coming together effectively.”

“TOXIC leans on style and swagger but lacks story and depth”

“Overall, everything that could go wrong had gone wrong for the Toxic. Except for lavish filmmaking with some technically brilliant portions here and there, there is nothing for the audience to get engaged with. It tests your patience and makes you restless with its confused screenplay.”

“Does the international scale style work? Lehren checks it out.”

“Toxic sees Yash return as gangster Raya in a visually striking but emotionally thin drama. The review criticises its loud background score, weak character depth, forced machismo, poor chemistry and spectacle-driven violence over substance.”

“Barring those two motifs, it’s hard to tell, if anyone — let alone the other female and male actors in the movie with a cigarette in their hand, in every scene — has any clue what this movie is about. The side-effect of such nonsense can’t be strictly external. I notice, by the movie’s climax, the hero has, mentally, lost it as well. Good, why must we suffer alone.”

“It's a great pity then Mohandas' voice gets sanded under the crushing, loud antics of this blood-soaked saga around men, guns and guilt. However, Ujwal Kulkarni's scattershot, frenzied edit constantly drains both poignance and any sustained mood.”

“There's something about Geetu Mohandas and Yash's Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups that has rubbed people the wrong way since the first promo was released. Initially, it felt like the uproar was over the depiction of sex or the grand dose of misogyny that came with a side of gratuitous violence. In hindsight, it feels like maybe our gut instinct was telling us everything about the film was surface-level.”

“Toxic is a lavishly mounted but hollow action drama that mistakes style, violence and sensuality for substance. Yash's star power and the film's technical polish cannot compensate for its weak writing and illogical screenplay.”

“In Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown Ups, the disconnect between two people who see cinema differently is apparent. The result is an ambitious misfire. Toxic finds its purpose far too late.”

“'Toxic' presents a house of mirrors that is largely out of service, failing to deliver a coherent or compelling narrative despite its ambitious premise of exploring a man who doesn't fear death.”

“...a massive, visually ambitious film packed with action, elaborate set pieces and a galaxy of stars, but one that she argues struggles with its script, character development and consistency.”