A tall, gaunt, unsmiling, grizzled hero and a theme based on the unholy nexus of politicians, cops, corporates and criminals with violence and backstabbing at every turn… Now how many times is Ram Gopal Verma going to dish out films based on the same mould?

The plot is somewhat like this. In order to end the terrible gang-war between a foreign-based don and his homegrown henchman-turned-foe, Mumbai Police creates a special undercover force of hand-picked cops, giving it unlimited powers. But what happens when this very elite force (code-named as the Department) starts being manipulated? Is it possible to accurately define right and wrong in such morally complex world?

Sanjay Dutt as the world-wise Chief of the Department, Amitabh Bachchan as the powerful Home Minister (a character that’s like a mishmash of Sarkar and Budha Hoga Tera Baap) and Rana Dugubatti as the silent, tough cop cannot bring any sparkle to the screen. Vijay Raaz as the Mumbai-based don, Abhimanyu Singh as his hot-headed second-in-command and his crazy moll are the most watchable characters.

Department has nothing new to offer and loses out with full of predictable plot devices. RGV doesn’t help his cause by overdoing his patented weird camera angles and jerky camera movements. His half-hearted effort to sermonize about the morality of today’s corrupt world falls flat on its face.

Give it a miss and you would spare yourself a headache!