'Enemy' review: Vishal, Arya starrer is an action-packed watchable entertainer
Certain films will surprisingly turn out to be good and break your preconceived notion. Anand Shankar's latest film Enemy is one such flick. With the director's previous ventures like NOTA and Iru Mugan, one might expect Enemy to be a potboiler. If you, too, have such an expectation, you might precisely return satisfied after watching the film. Here's our review.
Story is about school buddies who meet after 25 years
Enemy is the story of two high schoolers with daddy issues and how different they turn out to be when they meet after 25 years. Almost the first 30 minutes were was spent in establishing their childhood. The kids who played as Arya and Vishal's younger versions deserve a special mention here. They looked and acted like the actors' younger versions.
Monotonous life of hero changes after he meets his neighbors
Enemy revolves around a brainy kid Chozhan (Vishal), son of Ramalingam (Thambi Ramaiah), who always stays away from risks. Chozhan's life takes a turn when he meets his new neighbor Paari (Prakash Raj) and his son Rajiv (Arya). Paari is a retired CBI officer who believes in putting his son in challenging situations. Impressed by Chozhan's quick thinking, Paari trains him, too.
Story takes off on a melodramatic point
Even though Ramalingam does not approve of his son being put in risky situations, Chozhan continues to get trained by Paari. On the other hand, Rajiv constantly tries to impress his father, only in vain. After an unfortunate situation following the demise of Paari, Ramalingam flees their neighborhood along with his son and settles down in Singapore. Here's where the story takes off.
Women actors have nothing to do with the story
Chozhan grows up to become a Robin Hood who helps people out of nowhere. Rajiv, on the other hand, turns out to be a cunning, cold-hearted villain. And, we almost forgot about the leading ladies. Like it has been in Tamil cinema since forever, Enemy also uses them just for dance and kidnap sequences. They don't have anything to do with the plot.
Overall, the film deserves 3 stars for the effort
There are so many villains in Enemy who keep fighting among themselves and with the central characters. We will never know or care why. At one point, you would find yourself saying "meh," but the very next scene will wow you. That's what clicked in the film. End note: Enemy has black hole-sized loopholes but is an average entertainer. Verdict: Gets 3 stars.
