RRR

RRR is a revelation. The Telugu-action/drama is insane in all the best ways. Writer/director S.S. Rajamouli offers a fictional account on two historical figures (N.T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan) each fighting against the early Twentieth Century British imperialist control of India in their own way.

For more than three hours, Rajamouli weaves an engaging tale offering deep emotional moments such as the young girl kidnapped from her village by the British Raj (Ray Stevenson), a bromance for the ages between our two leads, dark turns and revelations, Bollywood dance numbers, racism, and some of the most amazing action ever imagined for film.

The film is nearly impossible to describe with its shift in tones that somehow always work whether it be in its lighter and more comedic moments, heavy dramatic scenes, love stories, rampant brutality and racism of the British towards the locals, or when it goes balls-to-the wall in its glorious action sequences including its stunning lengthy climax. With so much going on RRR shouldn't work this well, but other than a knock one could levy against its length it's hard to find fault with a film this good that earns all of its stand-out moments.

While in reality Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan) and Komaram Bheem (N.T. Rama Rao Jr.) never met, Rajamouli was struck by the similarities of the two men. Modeling them in part on Hindu legendary figures and modern day super-heroes, the director offers the dream of a larger-than-life friendship that might have been if they two had met. The director uses this friendship to delve into many themes including the rise of nature against the oppressors in one of the most effectively crazy sequences I've ever seen, and the flow of brotherhood, betrayal, and love between our two characters who eventually find themselves at cross purposes and then must deal with the consequences.

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• Title: RRR
• IMDb: link