If there’s one film that has received a surprising push from the latest critics group awards, it’s definitely SS Rajamouli’s “RRR.”
I’ve said this before: It’s entertaining; the action is deliriously over the top, the story very silly, and its 3-hour runtime is a little too indulgent. I know Rajamouli was going for an “epic” scope and the sheer exuberance of the whole thing is pretty contagious, but it’s a whopping 187 minute assault of the senses …
Paul Schrader doesn’t seem to be a fan. When asked about the film the “First Reformed” filmmaker had this to say about Rajamouli’s silly Netflix sensation:
“The CGI wore me down. Dance numbers I can watch over and over, but digital tigers …”
From what I understand, “RRR” had a budget which translated to around $72 million US. The problem is that Rajamouli’s intent and vision for this movie seemed to be that of a far more expensive one, what you get, as Schrader states, are CGI tigers that look very cheap and none-too-realistic.
Then again, that’s part of the charm of this movie. You shouldn’t take it too seriously, it plays like a live-action cartoon — a muscular Looney Tunes-esque action epic that American critics have been praising to the high heavens. Hell, Rajamouli even won the New York Film Critics Circle award for Best Director. Pretty shocking considering the auteurs that he beat in the process.