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RRR Movie Review

RRR is a 2022 Indian Telugu-language epic action drama film directed by S. S. Rajamouli and starring N. T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan. It’s an exceedingly silly, but undeniably epic flick.

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“Bheem, how long do we fight these jackals?

Let’s hunt down the lion“

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It tells the tale of two legendary revolutionaries and their journey far away from home. After their journey they return home to start fighting back against British colonialists in the 1920s. The two main stars play Bheem and Raju, two real-life revolutionary figures, but the movie is totally fabricated in its storyline as the two never met in life. The filmmakers also added a lot of superheroic elements infused with Indian Mythology, especially focusing on Ramayana and Mahabharata.

This mixture was strange, but it still worked as it led to an explosive, cinematic spectacle that is difficult not to enjoy. The entire movie made me smile with joy, which is something that Hollywood blockbusters rarely do. The lightweight tone and its huge heart were the film’s best aspects. The bromance was especially powerful and the two were so lovable as characters and in their infectious dynamic that those moments were easily the greatest.

Rama Rao Jr. was fantastic here, especially in the more emotional sequences. Just his eyes told so many emotions on his face. In a less serious, but still dignified role, Ram Charan impressed me even more as he exuded so much raw charisma and star power that all of his scenes were electrifying. The two shared such amazing chemistry that they blew everybody else away. The supporting characters are significantly less interesting. The British are cartoonishly evil and sadistic while the women in the picture are almost entirely neglected.

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My main issue with RRR is its immense silliness. Telugu cinema is over-the-top, especially their blockbusters. However, this one was too much even for their standards. None of the action scenes can be taken seriously due to the ridiculous nature of their scenarios and how the weapons were used. You got a man fighting a tiger with bare hands, you got Raju fighting and winning against thousands of men literally and you also have the conclusion of the movie that saw the two go against the British military just using a bow and arrow and fire.

Needless to say, the movie is dumb and silly. The overabundance of action sequences hurt the movie. I have to say that I found all of this ridiculous action highly entertaining, but still the over-the-top nature of all these scenarios was borderline buffoonish. The movie is wildly uneven in its mixture of many different genres and I wish there was more romance as the romantic scenes that we got here were wonderful and so pleasant, but too sparse.

So yes, RRR is a stupid blockbuster. With that being said, I had to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. For a three-hour long movie, I was never bored at all. In fact, the movie flew by despite its staggering runtime in a huge feat of engaging storytelling and impressive technicalities. The anachronistic costumes and details aside, the cinematography is solid, the VFX are spectacular and the score is highly eclectic and memorable, leading to such a gorgeously crafted spectacle that was also solidly directed and edited. I just wished for more historical authenticity as the movie favored spectacle over thematic resonance way too much.

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