A Decent-ish Conclusion, But Riddled With Flaws I had high expectations for this film as I was thoroughly surprised by the sequence of events that took place in the first movie. After watching it, my expectations were not completely satisfied. Here are a list of pros and cons that I feel are worth mentioning about this film.
Pros:
Background Music/Songs: M.M. Keeravani does an excellent job composing the background score and music for the songs, crafting a beautiful, melodious composition in "Kanna Nee Thoongadaa" while offering a worthy tribute to Amarendra Baahubali in the riveting "Bale Bale Baahubali". The rest of the songs are aptly composed as well, and they don't significantly detract the overall progression of the film.
Special Effects: Rajamouli had a grand vision when designing this film, and it shows. The kingdoms are bigger, the songs are fancier, and the action is grander. It is really breathtaking in my opinion.
Acting: Prabhas is bold and effective in his two roles. The only flaw that I found within his performance was near the beginning of the film, which I will address more closely within the follies associated with the plot. Rana serves as a perfect foil against Prabhas i, emoting the necessary arrogance, built-up vengeance, and masculinity that the role requires of him. Anushka Shetty portrays Devasena very well, displaying her fiery independent thinking and provocativeness alongside Prabhas.
Cons:
Plot: The movie's story is obviously quite clichéd, but that is to be expected with a movie that is focused on showcasing its grand visuals and portraying the final encounter between Baahubali and Bhalladeva. However, the first half was dragged out tremendously. In particular, there is a long sequence involving Baahubali and Kattapa that will make you question what Rajamouli was thinking. Other important plot developments, such as the relationship between young Mahendra Baahubali, are not explored. Furthermore, Devasena's role in the second half of this movie will undoubtedly raise some eyebrows, as she is heavily underutilized while the melodrama starts to kick in.
Acting: Other than a few scenes of kicking ass, Tamannah is rendered useless. Sathyaraj, while a phenomenal actor, is grossly wasted in the first half of the film alongside Prabhas during that particular sequence of events.
Special Effects: The action scenes are yet again ridiculous, which I wasn't really expecting. Prabhas completing a 360 in the air was laughable. Soldiers being launched off catapults was quite interesting, but that's not going to cut it for the amount of money spent on VFX.
Overall, a decently satisfying movie in that it met my bare expectations. However, my loftier expectations were unfulfilled. Watch this movie once it pops up on Einthusan or a similar film streaming website. Don't try to pay money to watch this.
Overall Rating: 5.5/10