Review of Raid (2018) by Prashast — 20 Mar 2018

The screenplay of RAID is full of surprises from the very beginning. The film starts off quite well and thanks to the powerful editing apart from the engaging screenplay, one hour passes and you're unable to realize it actually has, especially when the interval card hits you. The entire pre-interval sequence is excellently written, masterfully crafted and good enough to raise the expectations towards the second half.

RAID works for many reasons. One, the intriguing screenplay. The efforts of Raj Kumar Gupta and Ritesh Shah (director and writer respectively) can be seen in every frame and the research they've done seems to come out well in the movie. Second, the powerful and intense confrontation between Amay and Tauji (played by the very skilled Ajay Devgn and Saurabh Shukla respectively). The dialogues which come out like powerful chess moves, ooze a sense of intelligence the characters have. Third, the technical aspects. The cinematography is quite effective and it's a film one should better watch on the best and biggest possible screen. Fourth, the humour. It's very natural and actually hilarious. Fifth, the action. Apart from being a crime thriller, it's also a different action film. The action has been very neatly done and given the fact that there's rarely any bloodshed, you should not mind taking kids as well. Performance wise too, RAID comes out as a winner all the way. Ajay Devgn and Saurabh Shukla are simply the strength of this film, while Ileana too comes out with a decent act. The supporting actors too, especially "Lallan" and "Amma" impress big time. The latter's comic timing works as a major plus for the film as well.

As for the music, Black Jama Hai is not just the best one out of all, but also the most well-timed song as compared to the others, which too are good but not well-timed of course. The visuals are a treat to watch and the sound effects too are impressive. Background score also is quite effective.

To make it easier, RAID is an excellent action-crime thriller which deserves to be seen not just for the above-mentioned reasons but also for the tribute and honour it gives to the unsung heroes who don't always come in uniform.