Rating: 2.25/5 (Hackneyed Film)

Fresh off the success of Mr.Perfect, Prabhas is back with Rebel. Directed by Raghava Lawrence, does this action film have enough to work at the box office? Sadly, it didn't. Find out why

Story: Rishi (Prabhas) is a wayward youth who is looking for a man named Stephen Robert. He somehow falls in love with Nandini (Tamannah) in Bangkok amidst some nonsense involving Brahmanandham and Kovai Sarala. Later, it's revealed that Rishi was the son of Bhupathi (Krishnam Raju) and he is looking for Stephen Robert for a very specific reason. Who is this Stephen Robert? What happened to Bhupathi? How is Tamannah related to all this? And how Rishi finishes off all the bad guys in end forms the rest of Rebel.

Performances: If you're even gonna think about watching this nonsense, then it's going to be for Rebel Star Prabhas. Despite how poor and weak the script was, he puts his heart and soul into the film and carries the film and saves it from sinking to an extent. He is phenomenal in action sequences and it's safe to say he arguably has the best physique in the industry. Prabhas is the life and soul of Rebel and his performance is the only thing that works for the film.

Tammanah is ravishing in an inconsequential role. Deeksha Seth is ok in the flashback.

Very rarely do you get to see two generations of a family in one film. The original Rebel Star Krishnam Raju is magnificent as Bhupathi. He is as good as ever but his character lacks the required punch and is finished off quickly. After Prabhas, Krishnam Raju also does his best to try and salvage the film.

Mukesh Rishi, Pradeep Rawat, and Vikram Singh as the villains are ok.

Brahmandham's comedy is irritating and Kovai Sarala in a bikini will make you cringe for years to come.

Technicalities: Music and BGM by Lawrence are morbid. None of the songs are good and the background score isn't great either. Cinematography by Ram Prasad is decent. Editing by Marthand K Venkatesh is a joke. The movie clocks in at 170 minutes and is painful to sit through. Story is a joke. Art is alright. Dialogues by Darling Swamy will make you cringe at times and are too cheesy. Production Values by Sri Balaji Cine Media are extravagant but wasted. Fights are incredible but some are over the top especially the climax fight.

Analysis: After being in some good form with Darling and Mr. Perfect, Prabhas faltered with his script selection in rebel. First things first, the story is trash. It has no scope for anything besides mindless violence. The screenplay is non-existent and the film just goes from scene to scene and the so called "comedy" in this film will make you want to hit your head on the wall. I'm glad I didn't watch this movie in theaters, cause if I did then I would have cursed at myself for coming to such a poorly made film. The film just makes no sense and is painfully long.

The whole sequence in Bangkok and everything is just a pure waste of time before a pulsating interval block sets up the movie for a nice second half. The 2nd half has a long flashback that's dragged out and is a lot longer than it needs to be. And then by the time it ends, you're so exhausted from what you just saw that you'll want the film to end but it treads on for another 30 mins! Ridiculous.

Amidst all of the nonsense and disjointed narrative on display, it's Prabhas who shines throughout the film. But this film once again proves that one man alone can't save a film that's been put together by some 200 people. The editing department seriously needed to check what they pieced together again and full blame is on Lawrence for making such a dreadful film for Prabhas fans.

Overall, Rebel is a hackneyed film that has too much violence and no substance what so ever. Despite Prabhas's sincere performance, the film is just too long and illogical to comprehend and is not worth the time and effort it takes to watch it. Watch it only if you're a die hard Prabhas fan.