The pattern in which investigative thrillers are made in Malayalam is a criminal waste of raw stock. At least ten per cent of the film shows the hero stepping out of sleek MUVs and walking (in slow motion) after threatening one of the villains to mend his ways.

The point just strikes you when you watch Suresh Gopi's [Images] latest cop tale Ayudham -- Weapon the destroyer (the tagline without a colon). Directed by Nishad, who gave us an off-beat Pakal a few seasons ago, is also credited with the story and screenplay of this film.

It would be foolish to write about the storyline; suffice to say that this is a typical Suresh Gopi film that begins with a bang (literally) and ends, well predictably.

Here's a gist: There is bomb blast in the Vilayam area of the capital. The local police credit the terror attack to fundamentalists and arrest a local boy Anwar (Bala), an IT professional working in Chennai as the main culprit. Angered by the police high-handedness, Anwar's family and well wishers go to court to demand an independent inquiry. The court agrees and orders the Government to hand over the case to the Crime Branch or the CBI. The Government prefers the Crime Branch headed by DIG Hrishikesh IPS (Suresh Gopi).

What follows is a typical ho-hum affair as the hero takes on the politician-police underworld nexus. The plot is topical as these are events that are hogging the headlines nowadays. The privatisation of ports, the real estate boom funded by capitalists, corrupt politicians and many such things are also touched upon.

Thilakan as the communist Chief Minister mimics the original one to the hilt. His dialogues are written as if the director had sprawled over the recent newspapers in an effort to find quotable quotes of the CM that receive applause from the audience.

Suresh Gopi is his usual self. It seems that he may have done this film to appease his fans who may have gone back disappointed after watching his last release, My Mother's Laptop. Here he gives them everything.

Coming from Nishad, one expected Ayudham to be a bit realistic. But, that seems to be expecting too much as it is just a run of the mill stuff.

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