Raid Movie Reviews

Watch Raid because despite the corruption around us, we still believe we can win the war against black money hoarders. Also, watch it for Ajay Devgn’s intensity. He is sincere, relentless and doesn’t blink even once. One star in the rating is reserved only for him. 

It takes a lot of will-power to stand back and let the corrupt steal the thunder from the incorruptible. Raid tells us virtuosity may be boring. But it is still a rare bird worth capturing in the palm of your hand.

Overall, Raid is a tightly paced thriller that packs a punch. It’s always a challenge for a film set in one major location to keep the viewer engaged but the film is up to the mark.

Raid delivers riveting fare without resorting to too many standard Bollywood tics.

Director Raj Kumar Gupta handles the film well. The last 10 minutes seem a little fleeting, but that’s a minor grouse. The music by Amit Trivedi and Tanishk Bagchi isn’t consistent either. But Raid is a film that caters to public sentiment against black money and corruption. All in all, this one’s right on the money.

All said and done, watch this for an entertaining story, edge of the seat kinda narration and first-class performances by Ajay Devgn & Saurabh Shukla. A Raid you’ll not mind being a part of!

The film reveals all that’s wrong with modern India, where crores are cornered by a few (by hook or crook), while the middle class gets harangued over its meager incomes. The same rich politicos—patriarchs for places they’re from—are in fact secretly admired by locals for being champs at bending the system. They become the system. Not much has changed since. Only what the crooks look like may have. Raid does an honest job of showing it, almost as is. Hence the Raid Alert: Do catch this at a theatre near you.

This is not the kind of fare you might expect to set your pulses racing, but that is precisely what Raid achieves in its closing scenes. Raid is not regular Bollywood. What it is though is thoroughly entertaining.

The film is largely gripping. The subject is well chosen and creates an awareness about our heroic tax officials. It will make for an entertaining, educating watch this weekend, however, I wish it dealt with it a tad more seriously.

In its textures, Raid aims for a gritty realism but the characters are painted in broad strokes. Eventually the punch is predictable but after a few stumbles, it does land.

With no other releases this Friday, Raid is a clear winner. A seat edge drama with brilliant dialogues makes it a praiseworthy film.

As disappointing that is, Raid does have its moments of compelling optimism and unexpected wit.It’s also the most I’ve enjoyed watching Ajay Devgn in a while.

Although the identity of the informer remains a mystery till the end, it is no secret how Raid will end. But the rivetting battle between Ajay Devgn and Saurabh Shukla makes the journey to the finish worth your while.

In short, the dramatic scenes between Ajay Devgn and Saurabh Shukla alone are worth the price of the ticket. Watch the film if you like manly heroes quitely going about their jobs and villains who can be gentlemen at times.

Raid is a great watch if you want inspiration to file your IT returns on time. Raid is a decent watch, even otherwise. However, don’t expect it to bowl you over.

It is a shame then that this already engaged frame of mind isn’t capitalised upon. It becomes a regular Ajay-Devgn-plays-honest-guy vs. bad-guy routine. Except of course, that it is based on a true life story.

Ajay Devgn’s compelling act and Saurabh Shukla’s performance make this an unalloyed delight…

In the end Raid left me very frustrated. It’s promising and delivers many rousing moments, but it runs out of steam well before the finish line.

With a tighter editing, slightly less focus on the wannabe love story and a lesser dose of melodrama, Raid could have been a gripping thriller.

We have seen Raj Kumar Gupta deliver immensely engaging films such as ‘Aamir’ (2008) and ‘No One Killed Jessica’ (2011). ‘Raid’ pales in comparison. It is definitely worth a watch. Sadly, considering the theme, not as gritty as I would have liked it to be.

An honest Income Tax officer leads a team in a raid to find hidden assets of a local heavy, a political leader, at his bungalow called ‘White House’. The dialog is tight, the good guys are as smart as the bad guys are clever, the danger seems real and it’s money well spent when you watch this film. If only the thrill of watching money tumbling out of walls was not marred by silly songs and a whiny wife.

Watch this only if you want to cough up your hard-earned white money for a messed up crime drama that lacks tooth.

In all this to-ing and fro-ing, background music blaring to make up for the lack of real drama, even a terrific actor like Saurabh Shukla is left floundering.

To make something as mundane as a tax raid seem thrilling enough for a two-hour film is no mean feat. To their credit, Gupta and Shah try very hard. The visuals of money, jewellery and gold bars would have put Pablo Escobar to shame, and Devgn mouths sermons about how this uneven distribution of wealth is responsible for India’s stuttering economy. After a while though, the repartee starts to wear thin, and the obvious resolution takes much too long coming.

The recreation of the supposedly longest ever income tax raid could have been far more tight, taut and thrilling than it turns out to be

This crusade against black money has its moments…