‘Enemy’ review: A convoluted cat-and-mouse action drama that falters after a solid start

The primary half hour of Enemy, directed by Anand Shankar, has a promising prologue. It jogged my memory of Ullasam because it includes two fathers and their respective schoolgoing sons.

Ramalingam (performed by Thambi Ramiah) is so cautious about his son, Chozha, that he places the coconut inside a small sackcloth bag earlier than breaking it in a temple, lest a bit of shell pierces his son’s eye. His mockers even give him the moniker ‘Danger’ Ramalingam. His risk-averseness will not be merely a gimmick. Anand, who has additionally written the movie, offers a stable purpose for why he’s the best way he’s.

In the meantime, Ramalingam’s newly moved in neighbour, Paari (Prakash Raj), is a retired cop who has overcome assassination makes an attempt and suffered bullet accidents. Paari needs his son, Rajeev, to be robust, daring and good and thus trains him to be a cop. The coaching consists of fixing 4 by 4 cubes, low-plank-crawls below an impediment and different workouts. When younger Rajeev complains of ache throughout the plank crawl, Paari provides extra weight on his again. “You need to study to endure ache. Solely then are you able to overcome your enemies,” he tells his son.

Chozha, in the meantime, imbibes Paari’s classes secretly from subsequent door. He even flicks one of many many cubes and solves it in a single day. Ramalingam as a result of he needs his son to keep away from dangers. And, Rajeev, as a result of Chozha is best than him. He dislikes Paari praising him extra.

Anand takes about half an hour for this setup, even when it delays the introduction of the celebrities — Vishal and Arya. The writing is layered too. It’s the story of two single fathers wanting their sons to be like themselves. There’s additionally jealously brewing inside Rajeev as a result of his father appreciates Chozha greater than him. At this level, a mysterious homicide separates the 2 boys.

This was a stable setup for a cat-and-mouse sport between Chozha and Rajeev (not less than that’s what the trailer and the title promised).

However, like a Deepavali firecracker that sparks for a very long time, elevating our anticipation, solely to fizzle out, the movie begins to fumble after this promising build-up.

Anand manages to maintain us guessing on just a few events. As an illustration, simply as we predict the movie to be a sport of oneupmanship between a cop and a thief, we’re confirmed incorrect.

However quickly after the principle stars of Enemy, Vishal and Arya, seem on display screen, the movie begins its descent. By now, Vishal takes care of a grocery store in Singapore together with his father. However he’s additionally proficient in hacking, excellent in hand-to-hand fight, and is a superb marksman. If the Avengers have been recruiting in Singapore, he would have been a frontrunner.

Arya, in the meantime, has grow to be one of many world’s deadliest assassins. Regardless of the muscle tissues, Arya lacks the menace of a lethal murderer. Even when he threatens to kill a bunch of kids, he evokes neither concern nor anger. The ladies within the film, Mamta Mohandas and Mirnalini Ravi, hardly have something to do.

The writing additionally slackens after the setup. Anand brings into the plot the issues of Tamil migrants and Indo-China politics for causes little recognized to us.

Regardless of the implications of protagonists being geniuses, none of their acts to outdo one another is especially intelligent. Possibly that’s the reason, ultimately, they abandon brains for brawn and settle their scores over a bloody brawl.