Aparna Pengat

One of the best movies i have watched so far from this year's lot. What a performance by Urvashi, Parvathy and the supporting cast. Kudos to the entire team.

An average crime thriller. Mostly a new age CBI Sethurama Iyer story with a bunch of young actors in the squad to do all the running and action scenes, since the old movie squad is now too old to make the action scenes believable anymore. The only twist in this movie is mammootty gets a demotion from a CBI to an ASI. I assume the designation change must be a result of mammootty's likeable performance in unda. But his hero like demeanor in the movie is like a CBIs. These type of movies have a bearable template that can be replicated in to a series like the CBI series. You get an inkling of that from one of the scenes with Shine Tom Chacko spouting a dialogue to that effect. Kannur Squad indulges in a bit of slow motion scenes of the squad doing a hero march to some decent bg score. All 4 characters of the squad are likeable and that makes the movie watchable. Some of the media reviews praise the movie for being a great police procedural movie. Some aspects of it are, but don't be fooled by these reviews. You want to see a better police procedural movie, Malayalam movie has had some really good ones in recent times, including Kuttavum Shikshayum, Purusha Pretham, Thangam, Action Hero Biju, and Operation Java. Kannur Squad is definitely a good watch, barring some gruesome violence that could have been avoided.

This movie in a nutshell - how to be an obnoxious child and get away with it. I am not sure what was the filmmaker’s intention, but it clearly under passed the simple plotline of letting a technologically disconnected father connect with his children. The theme that stood out glaringly in this movie was how parents fail their children through poor parenting choices, turning their kids into literal monsters. When your kids misbehave, you don’t look hurt and slink into your cave, or feed that behaviour by handing out concessions (the scene where the younger kid calls his unwell mom to climb up to his room to switch off the fan and then she picks up all the used tea/coffee mugs to wash at the kitchen sink. A saint of a mother!). Was that scene meant to make the audience feel all gooey hearted about their mothers? Honest to God, one more self-sacrificing motherhood act and evolution may simply shrivel up the ovaries for good. And why o why does this mother shout at the top of her voice? Why is this considered comedy or funny or adorable? No one talks like that IRL. Loud, screeching voice does not equal comedy gold. Indrans, the only saving grace of this movie. This is literally a one man show. He carries this movie on his experienced shoulders without missing a beat. I wish the filmmakers had cast someone sterner looking who could take on the nastiness. Renji Panicker’s name pops into my head. He would have made for a great butt-kicking dad. Indrans melts your heart with his endearing performance. I can’t believe anyone could stand up to that gorgeous, sweet-faced person and be this mean. Every single frame he’s in, you just want to swoop down from your chair and give him a bear hug, protect him from the cold, indifferent world. This lovely man is a joy to watch on screen. The movie paces at a sloth’s level with repetitive scenes. Kids hurl cruelty at their parents, parents take it all wordlessly and helplessly, kids fling more cruelty for no additional reason, parents are cracking up but braving it all stoically, until the mother of all cliché conclusions - the father achieves sainthood, and everything is forgiven and the world’s a better place. Watch this movie only for Indrans. Everyone else deserves zero sympathy for being a part of this disaster movie.

Disappointing. The movie had built such frenzy and curiosity around its release. Instead, the story fizzles. There's nothing new that the movie brings to the fore. If they really wanted to tackle the business of religion, they should've looked for inspiration among the tens and hundreds of swamijis and swaminis dotting the Indian television screens in the early 2000s. Some of them went on to attain notorious levels of infamy. This movie seems more like a platform to showcase the art of cinematography, peppered with Uber stylish shots. Storywise, the movie totters between making a commentary on religion as a business and a herd drug and the thin line that each character toes between utter darkness and light. That's a tough act and the movie loses its plot on the former, reducing the religion aspect to caricature. The movie does a better job at capturing the greyholes that the characters keep dipping in and out of. The story starts strong in the first half. By the time you reach the middle of the second half, you are unsure whether all that's unfolding on the screen is real or a figment of viju prasad's disillusioned mind. The title track by Vinayakan is dopey. The kind of music that's unheard of in Malayalam cinema, until now. It sets you up for the trippy, disjointed ride awaiting you throughout the movie. You can't find fault with Nazriya Nazim Fahadh for attempting a clean break from her usual cute, bubbly girl roles. She seems sincere, but the role is barely fleshed to make an impact. Her role seems etched only for shock value (the transformation from a girl next door to a booze guzzling stoner). Fahadh Faazil is a delight. He transforms his energy from depressed to maniacal to depressed to maniacal and on and on with conviction. Chemban Vinod and Vinayakan are thoroughly wasted in this messy story. Dileesh Pothan looks uncomfortable in his western business suits, but has a menacing energy to him. And Gautam Menon should remain behind the screen. Soubin Shahir and Srindaa have a blink n miss screen time, but they manage to catch your attention. The scene between soubin and fahadh is to watch out for. Scripted and executed compactly, the actors match their zany energy to create a fascinatingly tense scene. They seem to bring out the best in each other when pitted on opposing sides, like Saji and Shammi in Kumbalangi Nights. The storyline of the two brothers - fahadh and Srinath Bhaasi is set for disaster, but has a heartbreaking tenderness laced with fear. The actors share an endearing chemistry as brothers. You feel for them both. In short, ok for a one time watch, but there are patches where you wish the clock would speed up and the story would reach its conclusion.