RRR movie review: NTR, Ram Charan pack a punch in Rajamouli’s emotional-action entertainer

SS Rajamouli’s RRR mainly works because of the emotionally charged action sequences that are powered by the intense performances of the film’s protagonists — Ram Charan and NTR. Just like Baahubali, here too the action choreography is grand, intense, and world class. Rajamouli makes sure that the audiences feel for the emotional ups and downs of the lead characters by orchestrating scenes that deliver an immensely satisfying arc to the lead actors.

Ultimately, the film belongs to Ram Charan and NTR, they have given their heart and soul to the film. Both Komaram Bheem and Alluri Sitarama Raju are physically and mentally demanding roles. With the Baahubali series and the other works of Rajamouli, we clearly know what to expect from his film and he stands and delivers the same.

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The film has scintillating visuals, powerful background music, jaw-dropping visual effects, and high-octane stunts. As pointed out earlier, so many directors have got all the technical elements right in their films with deep pocket producers spending crores of money but most of the time, the technical brilliance overshadows the core plot and the journey of the protagonists. Fortunately, Rajamouli has balanced both the factors to an extent, at least until the first half of the film!

Though it’s a crime to analyze a film into two halves, RRR gives us an all-time high till the intermission. Both Ram Charan and NTR look like two ferocious tigers in their introduction scenes. Ironically, NTR’s introduction features a tiger! Be it the action, comedy, sentiment, and patriotic scenes, these two actors are flawless. Slowly, Rajamouli also establishes the strong ‘bro’mance between Ram Charan and NTR. Though the interval twist is predictable, the visually stunning pre-interval action sequence justifies the fire and water (character shades of Ram Charan and NTR respectively). The clash between the two is truly epic and can be compared to any other masterclass war sequence made in Hollywood.

But as Rajamouli gets into the second half, he seems to be a bit rushed and took a detour before arriving at yet another grandiose action sequence in the climax. The flashback featuring Ajay Devgn plays a pivotal role, especially in unveiling the secret behind Ram Charan’s character and why he works for the British. But after a point, RRR starts following the routine template of any other mass entertainers.

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Another drawback of RRR is that the backdrop is quite familiar. We have seen several patriotic films and the revolt against the British so unlike Baahubali, here there is no novelty as far as the milieu is concerned. The characterization of the Britishers is unidimensional with a namesake Olivia Morris, who is the only good heart in the entire group of white actors.

Alia Bhatt only comes in a few scenes, her character is an extended cameo just like Ajay Devgn, Shriya, and Samuthirakani. It looks like, Rajamouli’s plan is to fully play to the gallery with Ram Charan and NTR’s heroic bonding in the film, and he has succeeded in his vision.

Leaving aside the usual melodrama and formulaic second half, RRR is an emotionally intense action entertainer that can be watched for the glistering first half, power-packed performances of NTR and Ram Charan, and the bombastic climax.