RRR is a movie for which the word spectacle was invented ★★★☆☆

Just the prologue of the Indian hit film RRR is breathtaking. Raju (Ram Charan), a soldier in the service of the British colonial occupiers, is given the impossible task of arresting a man who is part of an angry mob of insurgents. Like a superhero, he jumps over a fence to dive into the crowd, before taking it man by man against the horde. Madness, fantastically shot by director SS Rajamouli, who revels in every well-placed punch or wound inflicted.

After that whirlwind start binds RRR definitely not in. Rajamouli, India’s Michael Bay, is pushing the brakes further and further: each action sequence is crazier than the next, including battles where a leopard is thrown or an entire zoo plunges into violence. Impossibly strong Raju and his already superhuman adversary Bheem (NT Rama Rao Jr.) go head to head in the craziest of ways.

RRR (the title, which only appears after 45 minutes, stands for Rise Roar Revolt) is a film for which the word spectacle was invented. No wonder he’s been conquering the world since his Netflix show, after huge cinema success in India. In many countries the epic is one of the best-watched films on the platform, the Netherlands is still lagging behind.

The story is very loosely based on the lives of two renowned Indian independence fighters of the early 20th century, Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem. In reality they never met, in RRR they become enemies as well as best friends. And how: The bromance that develops between Bheem and Raju is one of the most infectious to have ever graced the screen. Never have two men looked happier than these heroes riding a motorcycle together.

RRR proves that the South Indian film industry, in this case from the region where Telugu is spoken, can compete with the more famous Hindi-language Bollywood from Mumbai and the surrounding area. Telugu cinema stars are now conquering the whole country, albeit dubbed in Hindi (Netflix also shows the Hindi voiced version, by the way). That RRR India connects, of course, also depends on the subject, with the British rulers as a common enemy.

The sadistic British in RRR represent pure evil. They are portrayed as caricatures, but so are many of the characters in the film. RRR glorifies violence and nationalism, although it is never entirely clear how seriously Rajamouli takes his hyperbolic scenario. With such exuberant exaggeration, a wink is almost ingrained.

Of course, the many gory action scenes, full of special effects, are occasionally interrupted for music and dance. In this too Rajamouli shows himself to be a great entertainer who does not hold back. For those who can’t get enough of it after more than three hours of bombastic film violence: also his action epic Bahubali: The Beginning can be seen on Netflix.