NT Rama Rao Jr. in Tollywood action drama film

Devara: Part 1 it's ambitious, exhausting, and so high in decibels that once it's over, after nearly three hours, you may need to stop and reorient yourself to reality. Which is both good and bad at the same time.

In interviews, writer-director Koratala Siva has said that the story is set in the 1980s and 1990s. But there is little about the film, shot in Telugu and dubbed into four languages, including Hindi and Tamil, to suggest this. The world of Devara seems to have sprung entirely from his imagination, where the rules are flexible.

The narrative transports us to a remote coastal region with four clans participating in an annual combat, fighting each other like gladiators. The winner's village then keeps the weapons altar until the next competition. The population brandishes torches and rifles, but there are no schools or hospitals. This is a land of warriors and the sea is so often drenched in blood that it has become known as Laal Samundar (Red Sea).

These communities love guns, and this film worships thunderous, over-the-top heroism that adheres to a narrow, old-school definition of masculinity. Devara, played by NT Rama Rao Jr., is a noble and benevolent leader of his tribe, but is also capable of destroying dozens of men when necessary. His legend was born when, as a teenager, he killed a shark and dragged its body to the shore. The skeleton is still there, testimony to his superheroic strength.

When it appears that his son Vara (also played by Rama Rao Jr.), has not inherited his fighting skills, other characters are quick to tease him about his bloodline. It is clear that a real man is one who knows how to kill, drive, protect his family and drink abundantly. At one point, a male character rides a shark like a horse. In another, two men fight until dawn. This is not an image that fears exaggeration.

Women have much less fun, as they are mostly submissive or in pain. Mothers and wives wait while their men go into battle or cry when they return dead. The heroine – Thangam, played by Janhvi Kapoor – spends most of the little screen time she has talking about marriage. Another female character, who is blind, is so ashamed of being a burden to her brother that she tries to kill herself. Yet another is killed in a rage. In short, they are expendable. Devara's mother, played by Zarina Wahab, also has no emotional weight.

The film is a formulaic wine in a new bottle: with the help of VFX, Siva creates an otherworldly environment. The sea plays a key role and some of the action on and within it is thrilling. But the characters and plot aren't innovative enough. Like the KGF franchising e Salaar: Part 1 – ceasefire, Devara: Part 1 it's structured as a story one character tells another, and Siva constantly uses a voiceover to connect the dots because there are too many.

For the entire first half he manages to make the many elements move smoothly. There's an opening sequence where we see what these men are capable of. The almost dialogue-free action scene benefits greatly from Anirudh Ravichander's fantastic background music. The dense plot builds up to a high-impact intermission block where Devara changes the rules of the game.

But in the second half Siva seemed to lose his grip. The story falls flat, especially with the arrival of village belle Thangam – while her narrative arc should add a hint of humor and romance, it does nothing but weigh down the narrative. Which, by now, is filled with so many burly men and grunts baying for blood that even the most attentive viewers might have trouble keeping track of who is whose son, or who wants to kill who.

Rama Rao Jr. and Siva's first film together was the blockbuster of 2016 Janatha Gragein which the actor played an environmentalist who can kill as needed. He brings the same righteous anger to the two roles he plays here, and his conviction goes a long way towards making the more outrageous sequences palatable. He also dances with joy and skill. He is well joined by Saif Ali Khan, who has become Hindi cinema's most delightful bad man. As Bhaira, she channels hers Omkara performance and offers. Even when he plays a villager, his evil is sophisticated.

But Devara: Part 1 however it sags because none of the other characters have enough meat for them. Prakash Raj, as the village elder, is on autopilot, as are Murali Sharma, Abhimanyu Singh and Shine Tom Chacko. The narrative flatness is accentuated by the synthetic-looking blue-grey visual palette. In too many scenes, it's obvious where the set ends and the green screen begins. The film ends with a predictable twist. Confidently Part 2 is where this story, like its protagonist, takes flight.