I have seen John Wick kill bad guys with a pencil and been awed. I have seen Dom jump out of a plane in a car and clapped. I have seen Captain America chuck a motorcycle at a truck and cheered. I have seen pale, bald-headed guys screaming “Valhalla” and swinging from poles stuck on a car to steal a girl from another during a car chase in the desert and been blown away. I have seen Neo shake off thousands of Smith clones and loved it. I have seen Jonas Taylor harpoon a megalodon shark through the eye and yelled.

So when all of these jaw-dropping elements come together in one movie, with the addition of catchy songs and adrenaline-raising beats, how could I, a die-hard (pun intended) action film fan, not love it? So when Variety predicts SS Rajamouli’s action epic RRR or Rise, Roar, Revolt could bring India’s first Oscar nomination in 21 years, when director Anurag Kashyap picks RRR over The Kashmir Files as India’s official entry to the Oscars, and the same people who cheered, clapped and been blown away by the same action sequences I had complain, I feel compelled to make them see the light.

For example, wouldn’t it have been far better to see Jason Statham escape from the pod, stab and then harpoon that megalodon shark in the eye in slow motion in The Meg? Imagine how much tension it could have built, just like Bheem’s (NT Rama Rao Jr) escape from and confrontation with the tiger in the chapter that introduces the character in RRR.

Or imagine the Avengers riding into battle to attack the Hydra base in Age of Ultron and instead of just the ensemble leap in the forest, a lot of the other parts of that battle had happened in slow motion. For instance, the sequence where Captain America casually hops off his bike mid-ride and throws it at a tank. Reminds you of the final battle in RRR and Bheem doing the same, doesn’t it? And to much more impact, I might add.

What is needed: A willing suspension of disbelief

You might argue that Avengers being able to pull off extreme feats are explained by the fact that they are superheroes with superpowers. But any action movie worth its grain requires a willing suspension of disbelief. It’s all about the massive explosions (ala Michael Bay), the gravity-defying action sequences (ala Fast & Furious series) and one-man armies that can take down a jail full of armed guards with just their bare hands (ala Rambo: First Blood). So, yes, when in RRR, Ram (Ram Charan) makes his way through a mob of protesters and makes it back wounded but safe, I totally cheered. Because for an action film fan, that scene was epic. And so was the next one, and the next. Rajamouli knows how to make action film spectacles and he is unafraid to go overboard to give the audience their money’s worth.

How can you not appreciate a film that uses CGI magnificently to give you action set-piece after action set-piece to keep you at the edge of your seat even as you take a break to bop your head to catchy dance-offs like Nacho Nacho and keep smiling through the whole of its three-hour runtime? Three hours?! You say horrified. Well, The Batman was just six minutes shorter and the extended version of The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring ran 26 minutes more. And just like none of those excellent films feels too long, neither does RRR.

And what about the Oscar nomination argument? Well, the Hollywood film that comes closest to RRR, according to me, is George Miller’s fabulous Mad Max: Fury Road. With those epic car chase scenes through the desert, with insane action sequences, mind-blowing world building and a powerful story at its heart, it gained 10 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Visual Effects and Best Cinematography. I think RRR as India’s official Oscar entry is the least the film deserves.