Kingston was released in theaters this Friday. Touted to be India's first sea-based adventure fantasy actioner, the film stars GV Prakash Kumar in the lead. Released in Telugu and Tamil, the big-ticket film has drawn negative reviews.
The Hindu opined that the film's narrative cuts back and forth in such a "ragged rhythm that it hardly allows you to breathe in the world of Kingston". The reviewer added, "There’s no space for silences, punctuations or any scope for good drama. Where even the death of a character hardly finds a breather, the emotional landscape of the leads hardly matters."
India Today said that while Kingston is a visual spectacle, it is let down by a mediocre story. "The visual effects, horror elements, and efforts by the technical departments stand out, making the film shine at several moments. Yet, it falls short when it comes to the basic story and screenplay," the reviewer added.
"For a specific genre-based film like Kingston, it is confused right from the writing stages. The film has set its ambitions high and flying, but the efforts put into the writing seem less," OTT Play's review added, saying that the second half might give some thrills.
Times of India stated that the film is narratively adrift. "The muddled screenplay struggles to clearly communicate its complex mythology through dialogue that shifts between contemporary and regional dialect," it added.
Kingston is directed by Kamal Prakash and stars Divyabharathi as the heroine.
