by Josh Sewell
Even though it’s the holiday season, most high-profile releases are laying low because they don’t want to be destroyed by the sure-to-be monster opening of Avatar: The Way of Water next weekend. As a result, I’ve devoted the last couple of weeks to screener season: the time of year when studios send out their awards contenders to critics’ groups in hopes of landing on best-of lists around the country.
I’m fortunate enough to be a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the Atlanta Film Critics Circle and the Georgia Film Critics Association, so it was like Christmas morning every time I checked the mail in the lead up to Thanksgiving. Even a giant movie nerd like me doesn’t have time to watch everything, so I always look forward to catching up on things I missed throughout the year.
One of my biggest blind spots was RRR, a blockbuster epic from India that opened in the U.S. back in March and immediately proceeded to blow the minds of even the grouchiest, most cynical critics (it’s currently rocking a 93 percent on Rotten Tomatoes). I was dying to see it months ago, but I kept waiting for the chance to see it on a big screen.
That opportunity never came, but it popped up on Netflix a couple of months later. Even then, my colleagues told me to hang on a little longer because – ready for a dorky sentence that tells you a lot about me? – that version was dubbed in Hindu rather than the original Telugu and I should wait for the real thing. (Recently, Netflix also added a new English-dubbed version; however, considering the difficult to understand accents and mismatched captions, it’s not great.)
A couple of weeks ago, the waiting paid off – a kind publicist sent me a link to watch the original and I couldn’t press play fast enough. Although I didn’t get to see RRR in a crowded theater with my fellow movie nerds (can you believe some people got to see it in IMAX?!), even watching it at home was one of the most incredible cinematic experiences I had all year.
Clocking in at a staggering 187 minutes (although the breakneck pacing makes it feel far shorter), RRR is a momentous, action-packed myth that depicts real-life Indian freedom fighters from the early 20th century as if they were superheroes straight out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The story imagines a fictional meeting between national heroes Komaram Bheem (played by Indian superstar N.T. Rama Rao Jr., aka NTR) and Alluri Sitarama Raju (played by fellow Indian A-lister Ram Charan), set into motion when a young girl is stolen from her village by British soldiers.
The film is a hugely successful collaboration between three of the most successful figures in India’s film industry: director S.S. Rajamouli, as well as actors NTR and Charan. In fact, the title RRR comes from putting their three names together. The subtitle Rise Roar Revolt was crafted after the fact, but the men are still so iconic that the movie could be marketed solely with their initials.
The movie itself is practically indescribable, but I’ll give it a shot. Although not quite the same tonally, it’s reminiscent of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in how it melds reality and fantasy, taking place in a heightened world. There’s a combination of genres, including action, melodrama, romantic comedy and even musical, that seem incompatible on the surface, but it works like magic once you give yourself over to it.
Granted, there’s not a subtle bone in the film’s body, but that’s one of the biggest reasons why I love it. I’d never dream of spoiling it, but there’s one action sequence that is so mind-blowingly incredible that I had to pause the movie until I stopped laughing. It’s not actually funny, but it’s so astonishing that laughter was my only response. It’s literally awesome, in the true dictionary definition of the word.
I’ll be shocked if RRR doesn’t pave the way for Rajamouli, NTR and Charan to break into American films – if that’s even something they’re interested in; it seems like they’re doing just fine where they are. It also seems destined to impact the way our country’s directors and screenwriters approach action flicks in the years to come.
There are emotional stakes and genuine camaraderie between the protagonists that ground the insanity happening around them. I’d love to see this experiment applied to U.S. historical figures more often, imagining them as superheroes with literal powers to match their reputations. Granted, it didn’t really work with Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, but can you imagine a version that actually pulled it off?
RRR is rated TV-MA for violence. Hindi and English dubs available on Netflix.
Grade: A
I’m fortunate enough to be a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the Atlanta Film Critics Circle and the Georgia Film Critics Association, so it was like Christmas morning every time I checked the mail in the lead up to Thanksgiving. Even a giant movie nerd like me doesn’t have time to watch everything, so I always look forward to catching up on things I missed throughout the year.
One of my biggest blind spots was RRR, a blockbuster epic from India that opened in the U.S. back in March and immediately proceeded to blow the minds of even the grouchiest, most cynical critics (it’s currently rocking a 93 percent on Rotten Tomatoes). I was dying to see it months ago, but I kept waiting for the chance to see it on a big screen.
That opportunity never came, but it popped up on Netflix a couple of months later. Even then, my colleagues told me to hang on a little longer because – ready for a dorky sentence that tells you a lot about me? – that version was dubbed in Hindu rather than the original Telugu and I should wait for the real thing. (Recently, Netflix also added a new English-dubbed version; however, considering the difficult to understand accents and mismatched captions, it’s not great.)
A couple of weeks ago, the waiting paid off – a kind publicist sent me a link to watch the original and I couldn’t press play fast enough. Although I didn’t get to see RRR in a crowded theater with my fellow movie nerds (can you believe some people got to see it in IMAX?!), even watching it at home was one of the most incredible cinematic experiences I had all year.
Clocking in at a staggering 187 minutes (although the breakneck pacing makes it feel far shorter), RRR is a momentous, action-packed myth that depicts real-life Indian freedom fighters from the early 20th century as if they were superheroes straight out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The story imagines a fictional meeting between national heroes Komaram Bheem (played by Indian superstar N.T. Rama Rao Jr., aka NTR) and Alluri Sitarama Raju (played by fellow Indian A-lister Ram Charan), set into motion when a young girl is stolen from her village by British soldiers.
The film is a hugely successful collaboration between three of the most successful figures in India’s film industry: director S.S. Rajamouli, as well as actors NTR and Charan. In fact, the title RRR comes from putting their three names together. The subtitle Rise Roar Revolt was crafted after the fact, but the men are still so iconic that the movie could be marketed solely with their initials.
The movie itself is practically indescribable, but I’ll give it a shot. Although not quite the same tonally, it’s reminiscent of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in how it melds reality and fantasy, taking place in a heightened world. There’s a combination of genres, including action, melodrama, romantic comedy and even musical, that seem incompatible on the surface, but it works like magic once you give yourself over to it.
Granted, there’s not a subtle bone in the film’s body, but that’s one of the biggest reasons why I love it. I’d never dream of spoiling it, but there’s one action sequence that is so mind-blowingly incredible that I had to pause the movie until I stopped laughing. It’s not actually funny, but it’s so astonishing that laughter was my only response. It’s literally awesome, in the true dictionary definition of the word.
I’ll be shocked if RRR doesn’t pave the way for Rajamouli, NTR and Charan to break into American films – if that’s even something they’re interested in; it seems like they’re doing just fine where they are. It also seems destined to impact the way our country’s directors and screenwriters approach action flicks in the years to come.
There are emotional stakes and genuine camaraderie between the protagonists that ground the insanity happening around them. I’d love to see this experiment applied to U.S. historical figures more often, imagining them as superheroes with literal powers to match their reputations. Granted, it didn’t really work with Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, but can you imagine a version that actually pulled it off?
RRR is rated TV-MA for violence. Hindi and English dubs available on Netflix.
Grade: A
Reach out to Josh Sewell on Twitter @IAmJoshSewell
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