Toxic Review: ‘Soulless Violent Action Drama…’ Popular Critic Calls Yash-Kiara Advani Starrer WORST

Yash’s Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups finally arrived in theatres on August 26 after months of huge expectations. Fans had been waiting for the film, especially since it marks Yash’s return to the big screen after KGF Chapter 2. His pairing with Kiara Advani and Geetu Mohandas’ direction also added to the excitement.

The hype was clear from the advance bookings. Toxic had reportedly sold 9 lakh (900,000) advance tickets across India for its opening day. Its advance sales had crossed Rs 41 crore, including blocked seats. Trade estimates also put its worldwide opening-day potential at around Rs 120-130 crore.

But now that the film is out, the response has been mixed to largely negative. Some viewers have praised Yash, the action and the visuals. Others have criticised the story, pacing and lack of emotional connect.

Two social media critics have now shared particularly harsh reviews of Toxic.

Film critic Christopher Kanagaraj shared his reaction on X after watching the film. He praised Yash’s look, the stunts and the visuals but had little positive to say about the rest.

He wrote, “#Toxic - Stylish Yash, Circus Stunt, Rich Visuals r only positives in this 3Hrs lengthy Soulless Violent Action Drama. Improper Character Sketch, Forced adult scenes, Random Seq, Poor Dialogues & No Emotional Connect-Nothing works. Dir Geethu delivers a Mega Boring Film. WORST!”

He criticised the film’s characters, dialogues and screenplay. He also called out its long runtime and what he described as forced adult scenes and random sequences.

Another social media review was equally negative about the Yash starrer. The critic called Toxic “A Fairy Tale That Turns Into a Complete Nightmare for Everyone!”

He wrote, “A technically sound film buried under chaotic writing and exhausting execution. There are barely any proper character introductions, the narrative has no clear flow, and the screenplay gets confusing enough that you’re often left wondering what’s even happening. Dialogue writing is bad, the editing is even worse, and Ravi Basrur’s BGM only makes the experience that much more painful. Yash’s screen presence and a few scenes along with a better-executed climax are the very few positives. This one is hard to sit through. Not even a bad watch, this is a straight-up disaster! Rating: 1.5/5.”

Toxic is a period gangster action drama directed by Geetu Mohandas. The story is set in Goa between the 1940s and 1970s. It follows a gangster as he deals with loyalty, violence, morality and redemption. Yash plays the lead in a dual role.

The film has a big cast. Along with Yash and Kiara Advani, it stars Nayanthara, Huma Qureshi, Tara Sutaria and Rukmini Vasanth. Yash is also credited as a producer with Venkat K. Narayana.

Toxic has received an A certificate and runs for around 3 hours and 14 minutes. The film was shot in several locations, including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Goa, Thoothukudi and Jaipur.

The film’s budget has been reported differently by various sources. Earlier reports put it at around Rs 200 crore, while some reports suggested a higher figure. The makers have not officially confirmed the final budget.

The box office expectations were high before release. Strong advance bookings led trade trackers to predict an India opening of around Rs 80-90 crore net. Worldwide estimates for Day 1 were around Rs 120-130 crore.

Now, the audience response will be important for Toxic. Strong word of mouth could help the film maintain its momentum beyond the opening day.