‘Antony’ X review: Joju George-Kalyani Priyadarshan starrer receives mixed response from movie buffs

Filmmaker Joshiy’s ‘Antony’ starring Joju George and Kalyani Priyadarshan in the lead roles has hit the silver screen across the globe today, December 1. A mass action entertainer, ‘Antony’ opened amidst substantial anticipation, particularly fueled by the promotional videos that generated significant hype. The film revolves around a ruthless gangster named Antony Anthrappan, played by Joju George.
Movie buffs, especially those who have a penchant for actioners, have booked their tickets on the first day, and the early reviews on X (formerly known as Twitter) suggest that it’s a tie.
A netizen stated that ‘Antony’ is a typical revenge drama. In the post on X, the netizen wrote, “Watched #Antony. Typical family revenge drama Average 1st half; poor 2nd half Joju George, apt. Decent making. Good performances. The pre-interval college scene is superb. Writing is the major negative. Zero depth. Many cringeworthy scenes are there. Technically, not so great. 2.5/5. Average.”

A forum on X commented that the film is an attempt to make ‘a'stylized version’ of Joshiy’s previous directorial, ‘Porinju Mariam Jose’. The post reads, “Antony: The attempt is to make a stylized version of Porinju, but neither the characters are solid like that nor the emotions are strong. Even Joshiy's direction lacks focus like that one. Despite that, it lands averagely because of some mass moments and a good cast. Routine.”

Another X user shared that the film is ‘below average’. The movie buff also criticized the weak script. “#Antony: An okayish storyline, weak writing, lengthy screenplay, Joju George, and Kalyani were good. The bonding between them was nicely built up and shown neatly. Conflicts could have been stronger; villain characters are weak, thus making many scenes less impactful. Overall, it was a below-average movie. Rating: 2.5/5.”

Another review on X points out that the film is quite ‘old-school’. Anthony: An okayish old-school film that lacks inventive writing and execution. A convincing performance by Kalyani Priyadarshan and nothing challenging for Joju George according to his skill Watch if you are okay with generic writing and execution,” the post reads.
‘Antony’ also has actors Chemban Vinod Jose, Nyla Usha, Asha Sharath, Appani Sarath, and Vijayaraghavan in important roles.