'Devara' review: Overlong and exhausting film has no merits
After RRR's global glory, Devara is a litmus test for Jr. NTR. Can he recreate the same hype, the same enchanting effect, the same mania? The answer is, mostly no. Run-of-the-mill, exhausting, and preposterous with logic-defying stunts, Devara puts you through the wringer, daring you to come out unscathed. NTR tries his best, but the film is too far gone to be saved.
Story of friends turned enemies
Bhaira (Saif Ali Khan) and Devara (NTR), help smuggle goods from ships. However, one day, Devara realizes the cargos contain grenades and guns, and hence, orders to end this work. This ignites the fire of fury in Bhaira, who decides to kill Devara. Devara escapes, never to be seen again, leaving behind his son, Vara, who becomes disgruntled that his father abandoned him.
The runtime is one of its biggest problems
With almost a three-hour-long punishing runtime, the film tries to go for the kill but eventually returns without a prey. It tries every possible trick in the book, throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks, leaving a muddled mess behind. The story crawls and is stretched thin, so by the time you reach the climax, you're already past the caring point.
More on the runtime and overstuffed screenplay
Lengthy movies do not always translate into good ones, and mostly, the runtime doesn't have much to do with the quality or the merit of the film. Director Koratala Siva believes suffocating the screenplay with songs, unnecessary sequences, and combat scenes will elevate it, but instead, it only bogs the film down. The production design is top-notch, if only the writing were, too.
The action scenes become frustrating after a point
I enjoyed some of its propulsive, creatively choreographed action scenes, but unfortunately, they lose their edge as time goes by and the sharpness begins getting rusted. It makes the same point repeatedly and gets overbearing after the first hour. Moreover, in this testosterone-filled cinematic world, there's no place for women, and the female characters only exist to propel the tracks of the men.
It struggles to keep you invested
No character believes in logic or conversation, so each time there was the whiff of a conflict, I took it as a premonition for another (unnecessary and seemingly never-ending) fight sequence. Siva goes for all style and no substance; apart from the lead, there's no other memorable character, the story is needlessly convoluted, and the film, instead of invigorating you, falls flat.
The curious case of Janhvi Kapoor
Siva likely roped in Janhvi Kapoor to cater to the pan-Indian audience, but unsurprisingly, she has a guest appearance, despite being the female lead! She appears in three scenes and a song, and Devara would have absolutely been the same without her. Moreover, her "South Bombay image" always looms large over her, so she sticks out like a sore thumb in all her sequences.
Siva tries to make another 'Baahubali'!
If you somehow make it till the interval, more disappointments await you. Here, the parallels to Baahubali rear their head, and while you hope Siva will have something different to say, it's a lost cause. As the movie inches toward the climax, the similarities become more apparent, and if I knew this was how the storyline would progress, I could have simply rewatched Baahubali!
No drama, no engaging scenes, nothing to care about
The film is so obsessed with NTR's commanding characterization that it's satisfied in being trapped by it. It doesn't do anything with its story, supporting characters, or the many possibilities of conflicts. Its story is already 20 years too late, worsened by the endless action sequences. Sadly, no death ever amounts to anything because there's no emotional hook to tether it to.
Positives: Khan impresses in his role
Khan feels right at home in Telugu cinema and gets under the skin of his character. A menacing villain through and through, he is a proper foil to Devara, and their trajectory from being friends to being arch-nemesis lies at Devara's heart. However, had his role been written with more gravitas, Khan could have flexed his artistic muscles a lot more.
The production design helps the film going
Most of Devara is set at the sea, so the production design and the special effects are just as important as any other aspect. Moon lighting up frames, underwater sequences, and multiple scenes featuring men on ships—stunning cinematography and camerawork come together to breathe life into the shots. It's further accentuated when NTR appears to be a larger-than-life hero, which is a lot!
Can skip it entirely; 2/5 stars
Mounting the film on such a large scale, casting NTR in dual roles, and taking the film to the entire country instead of limiting it to the Telugu audience—you can sense Siva's conviction. However, eventually, nothing comes together, and this wannabe-Baahubali lacks the bite and the high-stakes drama of SS Rajamouli's mystifying films. Eventually, Devara left me exhausted, unsatisfied, and cheated. 2/5 stars.
