Kannur Squad has already got its fair share of praise from the audience and media. I wondered why I got hooked up with the film late at night yesterday, quite unusual in my itinerary. Police procedural dramas, whether realistic or cinematic have been running in Mollywood for a long. Before the team catches, we nab the culprit in our head. That’s the current scenario. Then I scanned ASI George who heads the four-member Kannur Squad. Was that a flashy Mammootty who always camouflages his age on-screen? Never. Except in the last cinematic fights, George was so real and restrained, never overpowering any of his young team members or higher officials in the plot. Debutant director Roby Varghese Raj is so keen on not falling for tropes in a ubiquitous landscape. When Rajeev Ravi’s similar attempt Kuttavum Shikshayum released last year, it failed to impress us as a film, Roby maintains the cinematic quality of Kannur Squad with no gimmicks. Sushin Shyam’s music engages the otherwise dry scenes. I am impressed with the tight editing of KS by Praveen Prabhakar and the minimal writing done by Muhammed Shafi and actor Rony David Raj. No emotional overplay in it. But, neatly grabs some emotional moments of its men off cringe backstories.

Kannur Squad’s prime focus is on its mission. Nabbing the smart criminals where local police need alternative support. As George says, naturally the team should be over-smart. It shows in their relentless journeys crossing borders. And the mobile tower dump analysis, unlike in similar contexts, seemed very genuine and controlled. The entire team behind Kannur Squad deserves applause for being meticulous about every detail.

Jayan (Rony David Raj), Jose (Azeez Nedumangad), and Shafi (Shabareesh Varma)-were well-connected in acting. Good teamwork with squad leader George. Inter-state scenes were not so effective technically, but not bad. Kannur Squad slowly builds it up in the first half then takes a drastic shift in the second.

Kannur Squad is based on real stories. I can’t clearly say, what was the exact USP of KS but it engaged me till the end.

Catch it on Disney+hotstar