A thousand-year-old spectacle with only a few seconds of soul

HERE'S great joy in watching new worlds come alive on screen—living conditions, attire, language, pastimes, poetry, expression of love... Clearly, countless hours and endless effort must have gone into conjuring up such a world from over a thousand years ago.

- SUDHIR SRINIVASAN

THERE'S great joy in watching new worlds come alive on screen—living conditions, attire, language, pastimes, poetry, expression of love... Clearly, countless hours and endless effort must have gone into conjuring up such a world from over a thousand years ago. But you know what brings even greater joy? And this is a joy that transcends time periods and landscapes. It's watching characters come alive, seeing them reveal their flaws, their virtues, their complexities. A car exists so people can drive. A song exists so we can listen. All the detail of a setting exists, so characters can be allowed to breathe. It seems obvious, doesn't it? And yet, Kanguva, despite its resources and ample runtime, misses this simple truth.