슬롯사이트˜Officer on Duty슬롯사이트� Movie Review: Kunchacko Boban슬롯사이트™s Investigative Thriller Gets Stuck in the Grey Zone Like Its Flawed Protagonist (LatestLY Exclusive)

Officer on Duty Movie Review:슬롯 머신 사이트 추천Directed by debutant Jithu Ashraf, Officer on Duty is an investigative thriller with Kunchacko Boban in the lead. An investigative thriller in Malayalam cinema already presents an exciting prospect, given the industry슬롯사이트™s recent string of fine gems. The film is penned by Shahi Kabir, a former civil police officer who has delivered two excellent thrillers in Joseph and Nayattu -슬롯 머신 사이트 추천and also directed the underrated Ela Veezha Poonchira. However, while the director, actor, and writer each have their moments to shine, the overall effort fails to coalesce into something truly exemplary.슬롯 머신 사이트 추천슬롯사이트˜Officer On Duty슬롯사이트� Review: Early Reactions to Priyamani, Kunchacko Boban and Jagadish Starrer Are Positive; Netizens Call the Thriller 슬롯사이트˜Engaging슬롯사이트�.

Harishankar (Kunchacko Boban) is a police officer plagued by a pretty huge anger management issue that has wreaked havoc both at home and on the job. He is a brilliant investigator, dedicated to chasing leads, yet his volatile temper renders him rather unlikeable. In his introductory scene, he is seen grabbing a female suspect슬롯사이트™s hair and kneeing her in the stomach - even after she claims to be pregnant. Later, he is caught slapping his wife in a moment of anguish. It is also revealed that his unbridled anger played a part in the suicide of his elder daughter, and he clearly harbours unresolved mental trauma that renders him unfit for police work, no matter how adept he may be at spotting a liar with a mere glance.

A flawed protagonist is acceptable, but the problem arises when the film expects us to empathise with him - especially when he shows no remorse for his past actions and is never forced into moments of self-reflection. This is particularly strange for a film that opens with the hero kicking a woman, only to have him solve a series of crimes involving sexual assault against girls.

Watch the Trailer of 'Officer on Duty':

Anyway, Harishankar - who once served as a DYSP - has been demoted to Circle Inspector and transferred to the Kochi police station after a violent incident. After manhandling a female thief, he immediately embarks on investigating a case of fake jewellery involving a KSRTC employee (Jagadish). What initially appears as a minor forgery case soon escalates into something far more complicated and dangerous, conveniently linked to Harishankar슬롯사이트™s past, when he begins chasing a group of sociopathic junkies (Vishak Nair and co) on a revenge mission.

'Officer on Duty' Movie Review - A Twisted, Disturbing Investigation With Triggers

Officer on Duty certainly grabs your attention with its hero슬롯사이트™s introduction, presenting him as an angry, volatile hulk whose explosive temper keeps you on edge. With the main investigative track established early on and layer after layer of mystery unfolding, you can슬롯사이트™t help but become engrossed by the deepening puzzle. When it is revealed that the case is linked to a sex racket involving the taping of sexual assaults on teenage girls, the film takes an even darker turn.

Once that major twist is unveiled and the perpetrators are shown before the interval, the narrative essentially morphs into a cat-and-mouse game between the hero and the villains - reminiscent of Gautham Menon슬롯사이트™s thriller Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu, particularly in the perverse nature of the antagonists, which even involves two girls. After one point, the movie drops its sense of realism entirely, turning Kunchacko Boban into an action hero who somehow grits his way through multiple stabbings and punchings.

The sequences depicting the villains슬롯사이트� perversities and their disturbing impact on the victims - along with several onscreen depictions of suicides - are not for the faint-hearted. While such demons do exist in real life, I wish the film had offered a moment, amidst all its shock factors, to empathise with the victims of such sexual perversions and affirm that they are not to blame.

'Officer on Duty' Movie Review - Clunky Writing in Places

Even if I could overlook Officer on Duty슬롯사이트™s reluctance to moralise (after all, no film can pull that off organically), certain setups feel clunky. For instance, the moment when the villains suddenly realise that Harishankar is their true target - prompted by a wrongly targeted victim슬롯사이트™s dying exposition - feels forced.

The second half initially promises a riveting cat-and-mouse game, with the cat and, unbeknownst to it, the mice, hunting each other. This dynamic is dropped rather abruptly when the action shifts to Bengaluru, where Harishankar discovers that the culprits hail from there (after Kochi, has Bengaluru become Malayalam cinema슬롯사이트™s new hotspot for youngsters and drugs?) and learns that a dead cop, uncovered during his investigations, was posted in that locale. There슬롯사이트™s a thrilling car chase scene that ends in a very predictable manner, and a tense fight sequence in a mortuary that serves as the first showcase of Harishankar슬롯사이트™s apparent immunity to stabbings and cuts.

After this, Officer on Duty takes an interesting turn with its screenplay. A flashback not only provides the villains with a supposedly stronger motive to pursue their targets, but also explains why certain individuals are chosen for that. In this segment, the perpetrators become the victims. If the film expected us to feel any empathy for them, it should have done a better job of portraying them as complex figures inhabiting grey areas, rather than as utterly despicable, cartoonish villains devoid of character development. There슬롯사이트™s no need to redeem them for their vile acts, nor to insert scenes that leave us questioning the necessity of such exposition when their reprehensibility is already evident. Their struggles with drug relapse and instances of sexual abuse contribute little to their character development, serving only to add another disturbing scene of sexual assault. Also, is it just me, or does the flashback imply a scene of child abuse when it revisits the dead cop?슬롯 머신 사이트 추천Nayattu Movie Review: Kunchacko Boban, Joju George and Nimisha Sajayan Star in One of the Best Cop Thrillers in Recent Times, if Not the BEST!

Talking more about the main event in슬롯 머신 사이트 추천that flashback, it also conveniently슬롯 머신 사이트 추천links the eventual fates of the main characters, as if placed there solely for the sake of twists. The final act - where the hero races against time to save his family - is a trope seen in countless films, though I find myself returning to B Unnikrishnan's슬롯 머신 사이트 추천Grandmaster, simply because Priyamani was in that scene.

'Officer on Duty' Movie Review - What Works for The Movie

I am not suggesting that Officer on Duty is without its merits. In fact, there are flashes of brilliance throughout this investigative drama. The opening unbroken scene -슬롯 머신 사이트 추천showing a cop writing his suicide note, then walking to the next room to hang himself, only for the room to reveal further surprises - is deeply disturbing, sets the tone for what follows, and is technically brilliant. Similarly, the scene in which Harishankar suffers from PTSD after witnessing a hanging body and then wades through an angry mob is well executed, with Kunchacko Boban슬롯사이트™s performance particularly shining.

There are also moments where the film loses its grip in its attempt to be brilliant, particularly in the action scenes. Some editing gimmicks lend these scenes a stylish appeal and strive to keep the fights as realistic as possible; yet the frequently shaky camerawork makes it hard to enjoy the effect. On a positive note, Jakes Bejoy슬롯사이트™s background score is quite good.

As for the performances, Kunchacko Boban carries슬롯 머신 사이트 추천his tough cop role well - a significant departure from the softer characters he is usually associated with (one character even makes a meta-joke about how girls once fawned over his 슬롯사이트˜chocolate boy슬롯사이트� looks). Yet it is in the scene where he is most emotionally distraught that his performance truly impresses. The supporting cast is adequate, though they are not afforded many opportunities to shine, including Priyamani, who plays Harishankar슬롯사이트™s estranged wife. Vishak Nair, who was a standout in Kangana Ranaut슬롯사이트™s Emergency, portrays the psychotic Christie in a manner that seems to emulate the Joker from Batman films - not the Heath Ledger version, but rather the Jared Leto incarnation. Ramzan, who plays one of Christie's gang-members, looks the part but still has rough edges in his bad-boy performance.

'Officer on Duty' Movie Review - Final Thoughts

Officer on Duty is a film with potential that is ultimately let down by its uneven nature. While슬롯 머신 사이트 추천there are moments of brilliance and the investigative narrative is gripping, its reliance on shock value and a need to have forced twists, underdeveloped characters, and inconsistent tone prevent it from being a standout thriller. For fans of the genre, it may still be worth a watch, but Officer on Duty falls short of the high standards set by recent Malayalam thrillers.

(The opinions expressed in the above article are of the author and do not reflect the stand or position of LatestLY.)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 21, 2025 09:56 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).