RRR
RRR
Starring N.T. Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt
Directed by S.S. Rajamouli
Starring N.T. Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt
Directed by S.S. Rajamouli
There's a local theater that plays films from India (known as Bollywood or Tollywood) and to be honest I never had a desire to watch them, mostly because they run the gambit of two hours and forty minutes all the way to well over three hours, and not knowing enough about them, I didn't want to invest that huge chunk of time with them. "RRR" was one such film that I ignored when it was in the theaters, and then it hit Netflix and I heard everyone talking about what a spectacle it was, how unique it was, and it was something no one has ever seen before outside of those who enjoy Tollywood films. When I finally dedicated the time to watch "RRR," not only did it become one of my favorite films of the year, but I kicked myself for not taking advantage of seeing it on the big screen, because a film of this caliber deserves it.
In the 1920s during the British Raj, evil governor Scott Buxston (Ray Stevenson) abducts a young girl from the Gond tribe, and the tribe sends their fiercest warrior, Komaram Bheem (N.T. Rama Rao Jr.) to rescue her. Meanwhile, within the British castle walls, Alluri Sitarama Raiu (Ram Charan) is the Governor's best fighter, and investigates an underground plot of independence run by Bheem and his brother. Unbeknownst to the fact that the two are actually out to get one another, they come together to rescue a young boy from being killed by a flaming train, and they become inseparable friends. When their opposing sides come into focus, however, it threatens to tear this unbreakable friendship apart - or it could bring them closer together.
To say "RRR" is a unique film experience isn't doing it enough justice: it's something that transcends the definition, reaching heights unseen in American cinema, and something that should never, ever, ever be remade (seriously, it should never be remade). It'd be incredibly difficult to pull it off, and should never be attempted, because of how special and over-the-top it is. What other film has a man taking on a tiger, taking part in an epic song and dance number, then unleashing the tiger along with a slew of ravenous other animals on unsuspecting soldiers, breaking into song during a flogging, and also telling a romantic story as well as one of the best and most touching bromances in cinematic history? And that's just the tip of the iceberg for this spellbinding tale that's rooted in history, but takes extreme creative liberties to get its point across.
The main focus of "RRR" is in its title - Rise, Roar, Revolt. It's a tale of Indians gaining independence from their British overlords, and no other film I've seen ever paints the British in such a detestable, wholly unlikable light, which might be closer to fact than we realize. It introduces the world to real-life revolutionaries Komaram Bheem and Alluri Sitarama Raju (who never met in real life) and portrays them as superheroes, and all the while building the bromance between the two that seems destined to fail due to their conflicting alliances. Yet that's just the surface of this highly thought-out, deeply provocative, and absolutely insane script written by director S.S. Rajamouli's father, V. Vijayendra Prasad. It's a three-hour epic that doesn't feel three hours, because from start to finish there's something exciting happening on screen. Whether it's one-of-a-kind action sequences, computer generated animal effects that puts the MCU to shame, a love story between a freedom fighter and a British socialite, a song-and-dance number that makes "High School Musical" jealous, or aforementioned bromance, not a second of screen time is wasted, and by the end of it all you're left flabbergasted and having a deep, personal connection to these richly written characters.
No character is as good as the actor portraying them, and thankfully both N.T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan rise to the occasion, as both are well versed with Rajamouli's films, working together on his other projects. Rao plays Komaram Bheem, who in real life fought against the Nizam of Hyderabad for the liberation of the Hyderabad State, and plays him both as a fearless warrior who goes toe-to-toe with a tiger, as well as a sincere, emotional man who would rather die than allow his best friend to die, even when he learns that he's working with the enemy. Charan plays Alluri Sitarama Raju, who is more in-tune with the "RRR" story as he waged a campaign against the British Raj, and he's the more stoic of the two. He has an assignment and will stop at nothing to achieve his goal, even if it means turning on a close friend - but even then, there's more to his story than what you'd expect.
It's very hard to review a film like "RRR," because words really can't adequately describe what you see on screen. It's something that most Americans have never seen before, and while you're deterred by the three-hour runtime, don't let it prevent you from seeing this true masterpiece of film. You'll never regret the time you spent watching this, because of its groundbreaking effects, action sequences, stunts, performances, and multi-layered storytelling. By the end it'll leave your mouth agape and your heart open, reminiscing about the feast your eyes just beheld.
The Score: A+
In the 1920s during the British Raj, evil governor Scott Buxston (Ray Stevenson) abducts a young girl from the Gond tribe, and the tribe sends their fiercest warrior, Komaram Bheem (N.T. Rama Rao Jr.) to rescue her. Meanwhile, within the British castle walls, Alluri Sitarama Raiu (Ram Charan) is the Governor's best fighter, and investigates an underground plot of independence run by Bheem and his brother. Unbeknownst to the fact that the two are actually out to get one another, they come together to rescue a young boy from being killed by a flaming train, and they become inseparable friends. When their opposing sides come into focus, however, it threatens to tear this unbreakable friendship apart - or it could bring them closer together.
To say "RRR" is a unique film experience isn't doing it enough justice: it's something that transcends the definition, reaching heights unseen in American cinema, and something that should never, ever, ever be remade (seriously, it should never be remade). It'd be incredibly difficult to pull it off, and should never be attempted, because of how special and over-the-top it is. What other film has a man taking on a tiger, taking part in an epic song and dance number, then unleashing the tiger along with a slew of ravenous other animals on unsuspecting soldiers, breaking into song during a flogging, and also telling a romantic story as well as one of the best and most touching bromances in cinematic history? And that's just the tip of the iceberg for this spellbinding tale that's rooted in history, but takes extreme creative liberties to get its point across.
The main focus of "RRR" is in its title - Rise, Roar, Revolt. It's a tale of Indians gaining independence from their British overlords, and no other film I've seen ever paints the British in such a detestable, wholly unlikable light, which might be closer to fact than we realize. It introduces the world to real-life revolutionaries Komaram Bheem and Alluri Sitarama Raju (who never met in real life) and portrays them as superheroes, and all the while building the bromance between the two that seems destined to fail due to their conflicting alliances. Yet that's just the surface of this highly thought-out, deeply provocative, and absolutely insane script written by director S.S. Rajamouli's father, V. Vijayendra Prasad. It's a three-hour epic that doesn't feel three hours, because from start to finish there's something exciting happening on screen. Whether it's one-of-a-kind action sequences, computer generated animal effects that puts the MCU to shame, a love story between a freedom fighter and a British socialite, a song-and-dance number that makes "High School Musical" jealous, or aforementioned bromance, not a second of screen time is wasted, and by the end of it all you're left flabbergasted and having a deep, personal connection to these richly written characters.
No character is as good as the actor portraying them, and thankfully both N.T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan rise to the occasion, as both are well versed with Rajamouli's films, working together on his other projects. Rao plays Komaram Bheem, who in real life fought against the Nizam of Hyderabad for the liberation of the Hyderabad State, and plays him both as a fearless warrior who goes toe-to-toe with a tiger, as well as a sincere, emotional man who would rather die than allow his best friend to die, even when he learns that he's working with the enemy. Charan plays Alluri Sitarama Raju, who is more in-tune with the "RRR" story as he waged a campaign against the British Raj, and he's the more stoic of the two. He has an assignment and will stop at nothing to achieve his goal, even if it means turning on a close friend - but even then, there's more to his story than what you'd expect.
It's very hard to review a film like "RRR," because words really can't adequately describe what you see on screen. It's something that most Americans have never seen before, and while you're deterred by the three-hour runtime, don't let it prevent you from seeing this true masterpiece of film. You'll never regret the time you spent watching this, because of its groundbreaking effects, action sequences, stunts, performances, and multi-layered storytelling. By the end it'll leave your mouth agape and your heart open, reminiscing about the feast your eyes just beheld.
The Score: A+
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