RRR

There are not enough adjectives, not enough analogies, not enough anything to describe or convey RRR to someone who hasn’t seen it. I’m gonna do my best, but know that I am selling this WAAAAAAAAAY short. This is not a Hollywood movie, where it picks a tone and a genre (maybe two, if they have natural cross-pollination) and sticks with it. This isn’t an indie flick, trying to be clever or meta or artistic. RRR stands on its own, a blend of so many tones and genres that come at you in a shotgun blast, but all stand together and blend and trade off at will, in a madcap frenzy that exists to do one thing: blow your mind. You want action? RRR stands at the intersection of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon grace and choreography, John Wick’s visceral but balletic brutality, and the MCU’s bombastic blockbuster superhero insanity. You will see a man pick up a motorcycle by the back tire and swing it like a baseball bat. You will see a man launched into the air, grab a rifle in midair, and make a precision sniper shot before landing on his feet. You will see a man punch out a tiger with a flaming sconce. The action scenes in this are sheer madness, but they are beautiful madness. Gorgeous, poetic madness. You’re gonna get a bromance for the ages. You’re gonna get the story of two men drawn together though they stand worlds apart, and what happens over the course of 3 hours will tear at your heartstrings. It is epic, it is deep, it is moving, and it executed without a shred of dudebro “no homo” macho BS. And you will see these men put through trials and carry burdens that challenge their convictions and their friendship, and it’ll feel as real as your nose. Drama? How about British oppression of the native Indian population in the 1920’s? A forbidden romance between an Indian man and a young woman of English aristocracy? A little girl stolen from her home and kept prisoner? Class warfare? Whether a noble end justifies ignoble means? It’s all there. AND THERE’S THE BEST DANCE BATTLE IN CINEMA HISTORY! This is a movie that is crazy banana pants from the start, and tells you “accept it or get out”. This isn’t a movie you have to meet halfway; it meets you where you are and dares you to come along. And somehow, across 3 hours, there isn’t a wasted minute. Not one (okay, maybe some of the slow-mo shots could’ve been sped up to normal, but what fun would that be). This is hyper-kinetic energy that is never tiring, a blend of genres and tones that never feel out of place, and it is worth every minute of your time.