Part of Action Distraction
An epic tale of the struggle between two friends — one an officer working for the British occupying force and the other on the hunt for a young girl kidnapped from his village by the territory’s sadistic governor. When the pair meet, their fates become intertwined in the battle for the very fate of their country. One part POINT BREAK-tinged action bromance, one part mystical Telugu RAMBO riff, and one part anticolonial nationalist mythmaking, this stylistic and sensational slice of cinematic spectacle broke box office records upon its initial release in India and has since taken the world by storm. Cult auteur S.S. Rajamouli’s dizzyingly maximalist direction, emotionally complex performances from its two leads, jaw-dropping action set pieces, a powerful political message to would-be colonizers, and one of the most fantastic musical moments of the year make this absolute joy of a film a must-see on the big screen.
“Rajamouli shoots the film’s action with hallucinogenic fervor, supercharging scenes with a shimmering brand of extended slow-motion and C.G.I. that feels less ‘generated’ than unleashed.” —Nicolas Rapold, Critic’s Pick, New York Times “...Watching it with a packed audience familiar with Telugu-language cinema is likely to yield one of the noisiest and most raucous theatrical experiences imaginable. Plenty of recent releases have been hailed as ‘the return of cinema’ post-pandemic, but RRR stands apart as an unabashed return to everything that makes the cinematic experience great, all at once.” —Siddhant Adlakha, IndieWire
