Review 'Enemy': A reasonably good action thriller (IANS Rating: ***)

Film: Enemy. Duration: 159 minutes

Director: Anand Shankar. Cast: Vishal, Arya, Mrinalini Ravi, Mamta Mohandas, Thambi Ramaiah, Prakash Raj and Karunakaran.

Director Anand Shankar's "Enemy" is an action entertainer that tells the story of two friends turning foes.

The story begins in Ooty where Chozha, the school-going son of a grocery shop owner called 'Risk' Ramalingam (Thambi Ramaiah), leads a mundane, boring life. One day, a retired IPS officer called Paari (Prakash Raj), who has made several enemies during his years in service, moves in as Ramalingam's neighbour.

Chozha, who craves to learn new things, is fascinated by the kind of stuff he sees Paari teaching his son Rajeev. Paari, who realises that his own son performs better when he has somebody to compete against, offers to teach Chozha all that he has taught his son.

Training begins and Paari trains both boys in a number of skills, ranging from analysing a crime scene to shooting, to learning to develop an episodic memory. Both boys excel in all the tests and keenly compete against one another. One day, Paari is killed and both boys part ways only to meet several years later as foes. This time, the competition between them is not just intense but also serious.

The film starts off on a brilliant note. The narration is perfect and the screenplay is tight. The first 15 minutes of the film, which is about the days when young Chozha and Rajeev were being trained by Paari, are a delight to watch. As the story progresses, the pace starts to slow down, before again picking up just after the interval.

The film has many pluses. It has a series of fine performances coming from Prakash Raj, Thambi Ramaiah, Vishal, Arya, Mamta Mohandas, Mrinalini Ravi, and the two boys who play the young Chozha and Rajeev.

Vishal as Chozha and Arya as Rajeev in particular fit their roles to the T. Both have good physiques and the fight sequences work as a result of their fitness. Moreover, both actors complement each other well.

Mamta Mohandas, a talented actress who was not seen on the Tamil screen for quite some time, makes an impressive comeback with her performance in "Enemy".

Thaman's music for the songs works big time. "Lyric India", a very hummable number, is easily the pick of the songs and it catches your attention. R.D. Rajasekhar's cinematography is outstanding. In particular, some of the aerial shots that he executed in Singapore, will make you go wow.

"Enemy" impresses in parts. It is a film that could have delivered so much more to audiences if Anand Shankar had kept the screenplay of the remaining part of the film as tight as that of the first 15 minutes. Nevertheless, it comes across as a reasonably good action thriller.