The stories of the two legendary Indian revolutionaries at the the center of S.S. Rajamouli’s period action epic RRR (Rise Roar Revolt) would have made good material for biopics on their own. In fact, both have had movies made about them. However, RRR is definitely not a biopic by any stretch of the term. See, Rajamouli noticed that the stories of these two men were somewhat similar to each other and asked the question: what would’ve happened if they had crossed paths at some point in their lives? Many would merely fantasize or speculate, but Rajamouli made a movie about it, and not just any movie either. RRR is a cinematic tour-de-force that lures you in with promises of intense action and delivers an engaging story, before hitting you with some of the most massive spectacle I’ve seen in a movie.
In 1920s India, Malli, a girl from the Gond tribe, is taken from her home by British Governor Scott (a man so racist he won’t even shoot Indians because he thinks that would be a waste of bullets) and his wife. Komaram Bheem, the tribe’s protector, goes undercover in Delhi to track down the girl and bring her back. The government wants him captured, and A. Rama Raju, a tough-as-nails Indian cop working for the British, sets out to bring him in with the promise of a hefty promotion if he succeeds. During the search, Rama ends up saving a boy’s life with the help of another man who he subsequently befriends. What Rama doesn’t know is that the man is actually Bheem. Their friendship is intersected with Rama’s search for Bheem, and it isn’t long before the truth threatens to tear them apart. However, Rama is hiding something as well…
RRR is over three hours long, and while I’m certainly a sucker for cinematic insanity, the fact remains that at some point the novelty does usually wear off. Thankfully, there’s substance in addition to the style. The pacing in this film is well-done and even some of the longer scenes (such as an extended dance-off sequence) still kept me engaged with the story. Much of the first half is relatively low-key (with some very notable exceptions), focusing more on the friendship of these two men and the dramatic irony therein. The film lets the story build until the explosive midway point, with the second half adding considerably more to the narrative, including extended flashback sequences. This is a big story for a big movie and it doesn’t feel too padded.
When the action does start, it blindsides you with some of the most incredible set pieces I’ve seen in recent memory. This film has it all: guns, stunts, explosions, wild animals mauling people, kids with guns, crossbows, riots, brutal violence, and perhaps most notably, motorcycles used as weapons. Action scenes are frequently shown in slow-motion and sped-up. In the theater I saw it at, the start of the film’s outrageous and deeply satisfying climax made the audience burst into applause. This is a film you have to see to believe. The performances are great too. Most notably, Ray Stevenson and Alison Doody respectively portray the governor and his wife as not just racist, but cartoonishly evil. In a more serious film, this may have been detrimental, but here, it works. The film gets so over-the-top and is so unapologetically unsubtle at times that these performances work in the film’s favor.
Are there issues with using the stories of two real people who fought bravely for causes for the purposes of a film like this? Probably, and there has been controversy in India over that. However, the fact remains that RRR is one of the better action films I’ve seen recently at a time of spectacle saturation. Mixing unbelievable action with an engaging and heartfelt story, it truly stands out among other films in the genre, and with its period-colonialism-drama-meets-manly-bonkers-action-film premise, it’s also unlike anything else I’ve seen in recent memory.
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