Teja Chalasani

[SPOILERS; very long review] Rating: 2.75/5 I may be biased because I don't like extreme action films, preferring either comedy or more believable stories. All that said, Baahubali was amazing for action films. But it's not a fair comparison, because that was two movies rounding out a story. So comparing one movie to two is inherently flawed. Positives: 1. The lead actors were skillful and drew you into their stories, emotions, dancing, friendship. Amazing performances by both. 2. Ram Charan's story, background, motivations, all wonderful. Although, a child shooting a gun for the first time like he did? I shook my head, but it was a well performed scene. 3. Wonderful music. Naatu was obviously a mass hit and for good reason. Dance was also good. I hated the way it came up (a white man showing off non British dances? Really?) which ruined the beginning of the song for me, but still amazing. 4. Dialogue explaining the value of a bullet. I wish there were fewer guns fired over the course of the movie to illustrate the true meaning of this... But the dialogue stands. 5. WONDERFUL application of fire v. water in visuals, thematic in fights and I appreciated the symbolism a LOT. Beautiful work. Negatives: 1. Horrible female presence. There were NO powerful female characters. Alia can't be called powerful with 5 mins screen time, she had one important plot point. The British female lead (Alison) was a negative presence and not a great actress. She was good at getting you to hate her but it was overplayed. Olivia was good but she clearly had no power. [unpopular opinion] If I were Alia Bhatt, I would be embarrassed to promote the film. As a "character" who had significantly less screen time than Olivia? I know it was for the Hindi fans. She hardly exists in the story, except to bolster a male character. Terrible role model for females in 2022. 2. Implausible scenes. The lead actors meeting by saving a boy using a rope over a bridge. Ram not showing NTR his drawing for... Weeks? A couple who can't speak the same language but form a connection so NTR can get inside the house to see Malli? Ram working out in jail being fed once a week? The jail break out? And NTR singing while handling barbed whip flogging? Not to mention the fight scenes. 3. Speaking of which... The fight scenes. So much blood and gore. I closed my eyes during the longer scenes, but do freely admit to never being interested in Indian fight scenes. 4. The anti British sentiment. I understand the history and how Indians were mistreated and the British were horrible. But as stated in other reviews, these characters were caricatures, had no depth or any substance. Especially Alison and the guy who challenged NTR to dance. I cringed every time they were on screen. Aside from Olivia, who did a great job as "pleasant powerless Brit woman," who changes nothing and no one around her. 5. NTR purpose trumping Ram Charan's. Is it likely that Ram spent all this time, effort, betrayed his best friend, and THEN chose to abandon his effort? There should have been a reason other than "I feel guilty now, even though that didn't stop me from draining my BFF of blood a little while ago." 5. NTR character is not as rounded as Ram Charan's. Ram got this amazing backstory. Meanwhile... NTR wants to save a girl taken unfairly. He doesn't have anything else except he never skips leg day? NTR is a noble dude doing a good thing for his tribe. That's great. He has no other characteristics? Tl;dr: good one time watch with low expectations.