Director VV Vinayak's latest venture "Akhil: The Power Of Jua", which hit the marquee on 11 November, has received mixed reviews from the critics, who are upset with bad scripting.

"Akhil: The Power Of Jua" is a socio-fantasy revolving around the story of a happy go lucky boy named Akhil (Akhil Akkineni), who falls in love with Medical student Divya (Sayesha Saigal). What he does when African nationals, who are in search of a scientific ball Jua, kidnap her forms the crux of the story.

Critics say that "Akhil: The Power Of Jua" has got good concept, but the director has failed to execute it on the screen. The first half of the film is engaging, but the dragging and predictable second half mars the beauty of the film. They add that the director has once again failed to impress after his last venture "Alludu Seenu", which marked the debut of Bellamkonda Srinivas.

Debutante Akhil Akkineini has done a decent job and impresses the viewers with his dance and action. Sayesha's performance, some comedy scenes, songs, action, dance, Nagarjuna's cameo, picturisation and exotic locales are the big assets of the movie, add the critics, who have rated it an average of 2.37 out of 5 stars.

Below are the critics' verdict in 'Akhil' movie review roundup:

Idle Brain Ratings: 3

Saving the world is concept that's very ambitious in Telugu cinema. Going to Africa and saving the world is something that needs to be executed with a lot of deftness and should be made sure that audiences don't lose connect with the goal of hero. VV Vinayak who is regarded as star director has taken an international backdrop to direct this movie. Though he has succeeded in launching Akhil as a star with huge potential, he should have taken care in treatment and logic.

123 Telugu Ratings: 3

Akhil is a decent launch pad for the Akkineni scion. He is exceptional with his dances and gives an all round performance in his debut film. Interesting premise and some good songs are basic assets. But a below par narration, outdated second half and over the top graphics spoil the mood and makes this film just an average affair. Watch it only for Akhil Akkineni's impressive show.

India Glitz Ratings: 2.5

A socio-fantasy that could have been saved from seeming like a half-baked attempt at delivering half-hearted heroism. Akhil's reasonably good debut is all that is there for Akkineni fans.

AP Herald Ratings: 1

In the first 20 minutes of the film, Akhil operates a heart transplantation to Sahesha's Rabbit Cho Cho (As Rajendra Prasad tells the procedure through mobile) and she falls for it. That just shows the uninteresting screenplay and dialogues the movie offers for the rest. The movie is filled with such flat episodes one after another and when it reaches interval you realize there is nothing new in the latter part. Second half is set up for a boring ride and the VFX makes it so unrealistic and the movie lacks soul. There is no emotional connect with the African tribe and the fights fail even though they are technically good. The movie falls so flat that when Akkhineni song comes in the second half it becomes a herculean task to lift the film from such lows. On the whole, Akhil – Power of Jua is a total waste of time, energy, money and is excruciatingly drilling.

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