Toxic X reviews: Fans say Yash is fire, but the film? Not so much

Yash’s Toxic: A Fairytale for Grown-Ups opened in theatres on Wednesday amid considerable anticipation. After four years of work with director Geetu Mohandas, the film has finally reached audiences, and the first reactions on X suggest a sharply divided response. While Yash’s screen presence, the film’s visual scale and some of its action sequences have found appreciation, the writing, pacing, emotional connect and certain intimate scenes have drawn criticism.

Toxic is a period action thriller set in post-Independence Goa, against the backdrop of a fading colonial order and the rise of a violent crime syndicate. The story follows a gangster who builds an empire through blood, fear and betrayal, while smuggling routes become contested territory and loyalties begin to fracture. Yash plays a dual role as Raya, an older gangster patriarch, and Rumi, nicknamed Ticket, his estranged son who seeks revenge after being abandoned.

As audiences began sharing their first reactions, some of the earliest praise centred on Yash and the film’s technical aspects. One viewer called Yash’s performance and the cinematography the film’s “only major positives”, while also praising the scale of the fight sequences.

The same review, however, was critical of the story and screenplay, calling them “a complete disaster” and arguing that the character introductions and emotional scenes lacked impact.

The viewer also criticised the intimate scenes as forced, described the performances of the female actors as “CRINGE PRO MAX”, and took aim at the songs and background score. The film was rated 2/5, with the reviewer describing it as “a bold and different attempt” where “style without substance” hurt the experience.

Another viewer similarly singled out Yash, the stunt sequences and the rich visuals as the film’s positives, while describing the nearly three-hour runtime as a drawback. The post criticised the character sketches, intimate scenes, random sequences, dialogues and lack of emotional connect before calling the film “WORST”.

The reactions were not uniformly negative, however. An interval review praised Toxic for being “absolutely on fire till interval”, highlighting its screenplay, world-building and Yash’s screen presence. The viewer described the interval block as “EPIC” and gave the first half 4.5/5.

Yash’s performance was also singled out in another reaction focused specifically on his decision to dub his own voice for the Hindi version. The viewer said the choice had initially appeared to be a risk but felt differently after watching the film, writing that Yash “absolutely nails the character”. His voice, attitude and screen presence were praised as fitting the role.

There was also appreciation for the film’s overall production scale. One viewer described Toxic as “a decent watch with some highs and lows”, praising its visuals, production values and several action sequences. The review said Yash carried several moments effortlessly and called the film’s world and presentation ambitious.

However, it also found the writing uneven, with some portions dragging and the emotional connect falling short. The background score was described as effective only in parts, while the climax was credited with giving the film a lift. The reviewer rated it 2.5/5 and called it a one-time watch.

The criticism became more pronounced in some of the other early reactions. One viewer, writing about the interval, questioned whether the story would have worked better as a web series. The post criticised what it described as excessive noise in the background score, the film’s heightened heroism and some of its dialogues, concluding that Toxic was “empty in all aspects”.

Another viewer was considerably harsher about the first half, calling it “straight up torture” and comparing the experience to watching a 90-minute trailer. The post criticised the editing and lack of emotional connection, claiming that the film dragged from scene to scene and adding that some friends had walked out of the theatre.

One of the more pointed reviews took aim at the film’s treatment of its central protagonist. The viewer observed that audiences have embraced stories around toxic or problematic protagonists in recent years, but suggested that Toxic seemed to go in the opposite direction.

According to the review, the film was so unappealing that it could make audiences think twice about watching even a trailer featuring a toxic protagonist, problematic man or anti-hero. “If that was the intention, mission accomplished,” the viewer wrote, before calling the film “a colossal mess”.

Another reaction said the film only began to lose the reviewer in its second half. The post argued that the narrative became increasingly random, with too many plot points that did not come together around a clear central idea. The viewer also questioned the psychological drama and self-realisation angle, saying it was not the kind of subject they wanted to see Yash choose after KGF.

While acknowledging the production values and Yash’s screen presence, the review argued that they could only carry the film so far. The same reviewer also took a dig at the production house KVN, writing, “KVN is basically Harris Basheer from #MollywoodTimes, but for the entire South Indian film industry.” Addressing Mohandas directly, the viewer added, “good try with a mass hero. Please never try again.”

Not all the moderate reactions were negative. One viewer summed up the film as “a mixed bag”, praising its visuals and Yash’s performance while finding the story weaker than it could have been. The review stopped short of calling the film disappointing, describing it instead as “not disappointing, just not extraordinary”.

The film had also built substantial pre-release interest through its advance bookings. Reports on Tuesday said more than six lakh tickets had been sold in India, with advance sales crossing Rs 30 crore.

Toxic stars Yash alongside Kiara Advani, Nayanthara, Rukmini Vasanth, Tara Sutaria and Huma Qureshi. The film marks Yash’s return to the big screen after KGF: Chapter 2 and has released worldwide in multiple languages on August 26. Several locations also scheduled early morning shows from 6 am onwards.