Bahubali: The Beginning Review

My first Telugu film and it was beyond amazing!

Nish, my neighbor, had heard about Baahubali that is playing in Telugu at the theater five minutes from us, and asked if I'd be interested in seeing it.

So we get to the theater, and it is $20! Twenty dollars for the ticket and it's not even IMAX or 3D! Nish mutters "it better be worth it" and is convinced we'll be by ourselves in the theater at that price on a Wed. night.

Nope, the theater was filled up most of the way by the time the movie started. There was also an adorable trailer for the Kangana/Imran Khan movie coming out in Sept.

Baahubali was EPIC. It was huge in scale like Gladiator or Lord of the Rings or something. The CGI scenes looked very good -- maybe not always Hollywood level, but you can tell from the trailer that there is just stunning imagination to the scenery and setups. I said Wow out loud more than once in the theater. Just stunning. There was one fight sequence in the snow, and there are trees and bushes covered in ice. As bad guys get thrown in to them-- gorgeous showers of snow and ice. There is a scene with a battle with a bull where there is even the initials C.G.I. in the corner -- just so you know the bull isn't really getting hurt, I guess. Never seen that before in a movie.

Prabhas -- the actor who plays the hero is........words escape me he is so everything. Sweet at first, hot body, amazing action hero, tender lover, sexy as hell. He is just all that and huge bag of chips.

The film opens as a mother is running away from soldiers and trying to save her baby. She seems brave and all, but I knew I was in for something really different when she pulls an arrow out of her back to stab a soldier, grabs his sword as he falls and stabs the next guy ..... all while holding a newborn in the other hand. That's the kind of over the top action with multiple kick ass women, too, as a cherry on top! She bargains with Shiva to save her baby's life, and later he discovers like Superman or something that he has special powers and super strength.

I have not seen another Telugu film, and Nish really hasn't either so she couldn't tell me if this was typical to have supernatural powers and all.

Baahubali's love interest is a warrior. She is kick ass. The mother is kick ass as I mentioned above. And THEN, there is this queen mother who while holding a newborn pulls a dagger out of her sari and knifes a guy. Then calmly sits down on the throne, takes another infant, nurses both of them under her sari, and lays down her queenly law. It was awesome.

And after huge battles and half the length of the movie flashbacks and all.....it ends on a huge cliffhanger because it is just THE BEGINNING. I cried out "Noooo!" Have to wait a year just like between Lord of the Rings movies for The Conclusion!

To say I loved this movie would be a huge understatement. Nish and I both came out agreeing it was totally worth the $20! Heck, I'm probably going to go see it again! Five out of five stars for me.