This is the story of a man who rises through the ranks in the gangster world when he starts to smuggle sandalwood.
Pushpa: The Rise – Part 1 is an entertaining movie that mixes a lot of different genres. The protagonist is a poor but proud man, and he takes care of his mother. He has a half-brother who hates him and his mother. He tries to survive in this selfish world where you have to take care of yourself and your nearest family. And he knows where he’s coming from. He will never forget his roots!
The protagonist smuggles valuable sandalwood, and he starts to work for some powerful gangsters. He starts to get respect from his peers. But he lives in a dangerous world where wolves eat wolves, so he must try to be one step ahead to survive. And many underestimate the protagonist, which they will regret!
The actors are great, and the action scenes are unrealistic but so fun. I grew up with Hong Kong martial arts movies, and they died a long time ago. I have to say that Indian action movies have better and more imaginative action choreography than modern Hong Kong action movies. And that feels strange to say. I never thought that those words would come out of my mouth.
The action scenes in Pushpa: The Rise – Part 1 will make you smile and nod your head. The scenes are so absurd but so cool. So, Donnie Yen, you can retire even if you are a real martial artist. Because your creativity is long gone!
The runtime is almost 3 hours, which prevents the movie from becoming one of my favorite movies of 2021. I loved the movie, but it’s just too long, and it should have been 40 minutes shorter. There are too many songs and dance numbers, and they slow down the pace and ruin the flow. It’s not like Pushpa: The Rise – Part 1 has a new story to tell, but the pace becomes uneven, and it’s irritating. But at least the movie has some cool and catchy song and dance numbers.
Towards the end of the movie, Fahadh Faasil, shows up in town as the new sheriff. So the protagonist and his new nemesis who looks like a shaved ballsack with a mustache, have a cool and suspenseful scene that ends with them hating each other. So we have to wait for the sequel to see how this will end. And I’m looking forward to the sequel, and I hope the runtime will be 2 hours!