A Film Addict Reviews! Baahubali: The Beginning

Over the past year, I’ve been trying to branch out my movie selection by drifting away from the western films I’ve grown up on and watch more of the eastern selection. I started out with some Hong Kong films and those were decent in themselves but I’ve never gone Bollywood until I saw a gif over men being catapulted off a palm tree, rolling up into a barrel and fall down completely unharmed. I knew right then and there, I needed to see whatever film this was and that’s how I found out about Baahubali!

2015’s Baahubali: The Beginning is about Baahubali (Prabhas), who comes to find out his family’s past legacy, while pursuing his true love, Avantika (Tamannaah), and discovers what is really going on in Mashimati.

The storytelling of this film is just fantastic. It’s was well written and very fleshed out. I was engaged the entire time I was watching it. I felt tension when there was supposed to be tension and it was just a joy to experience. The film showed me what I needed to know instead of having dialogue explain certain things. It knew what to explain and when.

Visually, this film was amazing as well. The set design both physical and digital were incredible. It gave me a grand feeling on the scale of a fantasy film like Hobbit or Lord of the Rings. Even the action sequences were very well done. The eastern flair worked in its favor cause every frame looked visually appealing. I could easily tell what was going on from what was on screen even though it was in a different language.

This is something I don’t usually mention but it is an important part of the film and it’s the music. The music will get you to move around. All the songs are great though it does feel like you suddenly stepped into a music video in the middle of a film but each song just hits you with untamed energy and doesn’t stop. My favorite song is called Dhivara and it’s towards the beginning and it’s just too good to be true. All the songs actually feel like they mean something in the film. It’s almost like it’s character development or explains how a city was transformed in song form. Even the themes are fantastic as they blare in the background making everything just feel more epic. I didn’t even feel this much energy in Avengers: Endgame as I do in Baahubali.

The choreography of the last song was very well done. Everyone was in sync and the way the camera moved with the dancers every once in a while was probably one of my favorite effects of all the songs. It directed incredibly well for what it was.

The character of Baahubali is, admittedly, a bit overpowered in general. He can basically wipe out a platoon of people on his own but honestly, I don’t care. The man is just the best at seduction you will ever see. This man, barely meets a girl because he wanted to see the smile behind the mask. In the process of actually her attention, he tattoos her twice and then he somehow gets the girl using his Baahubali powers of seduction. Beyond that, he’s also a tatical genius and has the power of the people on his side. He is essentially a living legend in the film.

I’m completely in love with this film. I find it incredibly well done in all areas of music, sound, and visual elements to complete the total package that is Baahubali: The Beginning. I know I didn’t mention a whole lot of what is going on in the film but it’s honestly best to see it for yourself to get the best feel for it. Bear in mind, I saw this with my little brother, who doesn’t like reading subtitles at all, and he completely loves it. I highly recommend this if you ever get the chance to see it.

If you liked this review, please check out the previous one: https://vocal.media/criminal/a-film-addict-reviews-molly-s-game