IGN Slams Indian Epic 'Ramayana' with 4/10: AI Dubbing Called 'Cheap Marvel Knockoff'

IGN gives 'Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama' a brutal 4/10, calling its AI-generated English lip-sync laughable and the film a clumsy Marvel imitation.

So, IGN just dropped a 4/10 on the Indian epic adaptation Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama, and wow, they did not hold back. The review, written by Siddhant Adlakha and published on October 31, tears into the film's use of in-house generative AI to sync English dubbing with the actors' lips. According to the review, the result looks like the exaggerated mouth movements you'd see in a comedy sketch. Ouch.

Here's the deal: the version screened for US media was the English-dubbed cut, not the original Hindi. The original runtime is 18 minutes longer than this 162-minute edit. Instead of traditional dubbing, the filmmakers used their own generative AI tech to make characters' lips match the English dialogue. If you've seen games or movies try to replace human performance with algorithms, you know how quickly it can go wrong—and according to IGN, it totally does here.

The review argues that this mechanical feel, combined with the film's overall approach to adaptation, drains the epic story of its weight. And that's not the only problem. IGN also criticizes the movie for following a Marvel-style blockbuster template and splitting the story into two parts. The first film ends before the main quest to rescue Rama's wife Sita really kicks off, with hero Rama and villain Ravana barely sharing any screen time. It feels more like a prologue than a full movie.

On the acting side, the review says Yash as Ravana is one of the few bright spots, while Ranbir Kapoor's Rama lacks inner depth. Sai Pallavi's Sita has limited action scenes and agency. The score involves Hans Zimmer and A.R. Rahman, but the shorter cut trims most of the song-and-dance numbers. So if you were hoping for those classic Bollywood musical moments, you might be disappointed.

The review does note that the film still has cultural resonance in India and among the diaspora, especially with its release timed around Diwali. But for viewers unfamiliar with the original epic, whether this version works as an engaging introduction is up for debate. IGN clearly thinks it doesn't.

What do you think about using AI for dubbing? Would it pull you out of a movie, or are you curious to see how it looks? Let us know in the comments!