Srinath NK The story is very engaging and they play it very serious and realistic. Prithviraj gives a great performance as Anwar and never for a moment did I feel that he was miscast for the role. He does justice to his role and really immerses you into his world. Mamta Mohandas does do a great performance considering how little screen time she got. Her role is short but she does give her best and most of the time pays off. She was ultimately an obstacle or better put, a damsel, that the hero had to save in his otherwise lonely lifestyle. In most movies, either the male protagonist or the story will be the highlight of the movie. In this case, Lal as Babu Sait is by far the highlight of the movie. He had this intimidating presence, his dialogue delivery was exceptional, was believable as a leader.As with any movie I have to talk about the negatives as well. So, here they are. There are way too few moments showcasing his relationship with Anwar and his parents. It felt too short and most of it was given way for 2 of the best songs in the movie. The flashback happened way too late in the film and the time devoted to Anwar and his relationship with his parents and Ayesha felt underdeveloped. They talked about Anwar's sister, Asna, played by Nithya Menen, goals after her marriage but it's never explained what they are and/or how she wanted to achieve said goals. Another huge negative I had was the execution of the action scenes. Every single stunt was done in slow motion and I hate it when movies do that. Slow motion should be used to make a scene more dramatic. Using it on stunts just breaks my immersion and I immediately realise that it's a movie. This is the main reason why I hated the movie "300". They even use slow motion for Anwar adding shells to his shotgun and I'm left thinking "Why?".My third negative is of how they wasted Prakash Raj as Stalin Manimaran. He is barely in the movie and the scenes he is there, he only provides motivation to Anwar for the operation and to open a flashback which showcase the said scene. He is one of the best charismatic actors in Indian cinema and he was wasted in this movie. The scenes he is in; he gives his all but I can't believe how he was wasted in this movie.Another wasted character in this movie was Sampath Raj as Basheer Bhai. He has only 2 scenes and one of the scenes is him getting shot by Anwar at the end. This character was absolute trash. He is apparently the main guy who supplied the team of terrorists responsible for the Coimbatore bomb blast. What an utter waste of a good cameo. It is a watchable movie. The story alone is inviting. The action was good even thought I hated that they used slow motion on it. The dialogues have a good flow. Mamta Mohandas giving a good performance despite having less screentime. Great songs with good transitions. All of this makes this a good enjoyable movie.

Arun M R The backdrop of this film is topical. It's about how the youth of God's own country are recruited by terror modules. The script is filled with recent events that are sure to give you a sense of deja vu. There are punchlines but the slapdash style is kept to a minimum.

Vinu Bhaskaran Anwar was interesting to watch when i first saw the trailers.Though here once again it has been proved that when it comes to the action sequences and style you require amal neerad.The story in Anwar is good and the way amal neerad has proceeded with the story is also good but at some instances the movie loses its pace.The Story Revolves around Anwar (Prithviraj) is an orphan serving a jail term for money laundering. In jail he meets Babu Sait (Lal), a religious leader cum businessman accused of masterminding a bomb blast in Coimbatore. He slowly takes Anwar under his wings and even arranges for his bail. Then, as expected, Anwar becomes Sait's right hand man playing an important part in carrying out Sait's illicit businesses and even planting explosives in a couple of places.Among those arrested with him is a young lady Ayesha (Mamta Mohandas) who was working in a chemical factory and is suspected to have provided the raw material for the explosives used in the Coimbatore blast.The anti-terrorist squad chief of Tamil Nadu police, Stalin Manimaran (Prakash Raj), who had initially arrested Sait and his gang, is still trailing them. Any further unravelling of the story would be a spoiler.Prithviraj has done a sparkling job as Anwar. He has long been acknowledged as the next best thing of Malayalam cinema and he shows why such assumptions are relevant.Mamta Mohandas as Ayesha has a riveting presence for whatever time she gets on the screen. Prakash Raj is effortless as a beedi-smoking investigating officer while Lal is subdued as Babu Sait. They both leave an impact, though.Sateesh Kurup, who cranks the camera has been a revelation and has made a statement with his exhilarating cinematography and amazing use of natural light.Another name that deserves a worthy mention is the music director Gopi Sundar, it is his haunting background score that made Anwar the movie it is. Amal Neerad, who had depended only on technical wizardry for his earlier films like Big B and Sagar Alias Jackie- Reloaded, has come up with a decent storyline here. Of course, the inspiration from Jeffrey Nachmanoff's Traitor is evident at times. The suspense and the tension is watered down in the climax.Its far from perfect with too many 'cinematic liberties' to boost the hero and things could have been better with a tighter script.Overall the movie is watchable.

Vineeth Krishnan Amal Neerad proved again that he is not a good scriptwriter, just a cinematographer, wanted to show all the techniques and stylized shots on the screen with SLOW MOTION effects every where. This film has nothing better from Amal's previous one Sagar Alias Jacky.First half was very lagging and the over use of slow motion just increased the boredom. i almost fell asleep in theater. Nothing at all happened to the story line until the second half. I am not going through the story as there is not much to mention. The script got many loop holes and some unwanted twists, which not even helped the script and it doesn't makes any sense at all. Screenplay is the skeleton of a film. Amal should give more consideration to the screenplay than the SHOTS. And i hope he would reduce the use of SLOW MOTION in his next film.