OG review: Style without soul, mediocre fight choreography
OG promised a stylish gangster saga with Pawan Kalyan at the center, but despite the flashy premise and international underworld setup, the film ends up emotionally hollow with underwhelming action and uninspired storytelling, writes Kausalya Rachavelpula. Continue below for the review and analysis.
Story: Satya Dada (Prakash Raj), a ruthless don of Mumbai, owes much of his power to Gambheer alias OG (Pawan Kalyan). After helping him conquer the Mumbai port, OG distances himself from the criminal underworld, retreating to Madurai to live a peaceful life as a martial arts trainer with his wife Kanmani (Priyanka Arul Mohan). But the past never leaves him. Haunted by the underworld’s reach, he is pulled back into the chaos of gang wars, betrayals, and global mafia connections. Who is OG really? What is his mysterious bond with Japan? And why are international dons willing to wage war for control of the Mumbai port? These are the questions the film sets out to answer.
OG review: Analysis and performance
On paper, OG has all the makings of a gripping gangster drama. The idea of a mysterious samurai-like fighter with global connections, played by Pawan Kalyan in a mass role, sounds like a winner. There are moments where the production design suggests scale, and the background score occasionally manages to evoke some aura. Prakash Raj, as always, performs with ease, reminding us what a strong antagonist can add even when the writing gives him very little to work with. For a brief while in the first act, the film promises grandeur. Sadly, it never lives up to it.
The most glaring flaw lies in the writing and characterizations. Every gangster drama depends on emotional resonance, without it, the bloodshed and violence feel hollow. In OG, the characters exist only to occupy space, without any emotional depth to make the audience invest in them. The protagonist, Gambheer, who should have been a layered and enigmatic figure, is reduced to a bland persona. Even in moments that should have shaken the audience—like the death of a child—the scenes fall flat, leaving no impact, and fail to evoke any real sense of sadness, because of the lack of emotional weight in the scenes that lead to this. Instead of evoking grief or anger, they feel rushed and careless, robbing the film of the weight gangster sagas demand. The only scene that was new was the police station scene.
The screenplay is another major letdown. A gangster epic should thrive on clever scene construction: how a scene begins, builds tension, and ends with a memorable punch. In OG, scenes simply start, characters trade lines without conviction, and then they fizzle out. There is no rhythm, no surprise, and no clever escalation. The story of two gangster brothers opposing the hero is an age-old template, and the film does nothing to present it with freshness or intrigue.
Even the action sequences, which were expected to be the film’s highlight, are shockingly underwhelming. For a movie that promotes its hero as a samurai-style fighter, the choreography is dull and uninspired. There is not a single standout duel that makes the audience hold their breath. A film in this genre deserves at least one face-off between equals that elevates the action to something memorable, but OG denies the audience even that basic satisfaction. Compared to films like John Wick, where the choreography and backstory combine to make even relentless violence emotionally believable, OG’s fights feel staged and unconvincing. Unnecessarily loud and emotionally light.
The performances do little to salvage the writing. Pawan Kalyan, despite his screen presence, seems disinterested. The much-hyped Japanese dialogue that had fans excited during promotions falls completely flat, delivered awkwardly as if he were reading from cue cards. Priyanka Mohan barely registers, her arc wasted, and her death scene unintentionally borders on comedy because of how carelessly it is written. Even Prakash Raj, who brings gravitas to almost every role he takes, is squandered here, Sriya Reddy, Emraan Hashmi, and Arjun Das were a delight to watch. Sriya Reddy brought in that raw, wild gangster energy she is well known for.
The biggest disappointment is that OG never makes the viewer care, neither for the hero nor for the villains. Gangster sagas like Nayakudu or the John Wick series resonate because they make you feel the protagonist’s pain, anger, or moral struggle. They might be violent spectacles, but at their core lies emotion, and that emotion is what keeps audiences hooked. OG lacks that heart. It wants to be stylish, but it forgets to be engaging.
OG review: In the end, OG is a massive missed opportunity. It could have been a cult gangster saga with international appeal, but it collapses under the weight of uninspired writing, weak performances, bland action, and poor scene construction. Instead of being remembered as a stylish and powerful underworld drama, it ends up as just another forgettable entry in the genre.
OG review Fridaywall rating: 2/5
Bottom line: A film with great potential on paper, undone by careless execution and soulless storytelling.
