Mission Mangal

“Depicts the Mars exploration department as a rundown room with no people, just a solitary cat… Worrisome that a film about several incredibly talented women constantly plays up their stereotypical womanhood more than their scientific acumen.”

Rating: 2 stars | Full review

“How advisable is turning a serious science-themed drama into a populist entertainer complete with high drama and over-simplified plotting? On the evidence of what pans out on the screen, there can be no clear answer. Some parts of Mission Mangal do work; others don’t.”

Rating: 3 stars | Full review

“Elevated by smart filmmaking, and a clutch of winning performances led by the excellent Vidya Balan… No dearth of emotion. Some of it is trite and there is manipulative pop patriotism – the sort you expect from an Akshay Kumar film.”

Rating: 3.5 stars | Full review

“Cannot decide whether it wants to exaggerate his professional magnanimity, build on the eccentric mad genius imagery or play up his trademark nationalism… Mission Mangal’s reverence for Indian scientists and intuitions is touching.”

Rating: 3 stars | Full review

“A movie trying to sell its feminism hard.”

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“Mission Mangal consistently champions scientists and science. Yet, by linking the team’s breakthroughs to puris and pillowcases and stray comments by family members, and by explaining everything in layman’s terms, it diminishes the complexity of their achievements.”

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“Do not get me started on the cringe-worthy, condescending dialogues about women and Home Science etc from purportedly progressive men… The women of ISRO are rich material for cinema. So are all women professionals from conservative societies who juggle a daily domestic grind with busy, unconventional careers. Mission Mangal can be lauded for bringing some of them to the big screen, and Vidya Balan for her flawless portrayal of one such woman.”

Rating: 2 stars | Full review

“Takes the core ISRO team behind India’s historical Mars Orbiter Mission and turns their incredible story into a tone-deaf cross between a fourth-grade Science lesson and a woke virtue-signalling exercise.”

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“The human interactions are the best part of the film. The downer comes from the science bits, clearly crafted for dummies. And it doesn’t help that the computer-graphics look tacky: after years of watching stunning space visuals in Hollywood films, the scenes here are clearly sub-par.”

Rating: 2.5 stars | Full review

“By putting women at the centre of it all, complete with their life’s complications, ambitions, martial issues, duties as wife, mother, all the while keeping their savvy in the complicated world of rocket science intact, places young Indian girls’ spacey aspirations into Isro’s orbit.”

Rating: 2.5 stars | Full review