I start off with doing the film a disservice… its not Aan, but Aan-men at work!!! With a ridiculous title like that, can we expect much more. Actually, I had visions of a thumping action film with visions of a take-off of sorts on the Untouchables…. A Group of cops waging a war against crime, the aging Shotgun Sinha doing a double take for Sean Connery. Well, I wish it had been because it may have turned out to be a more coherent film.

Hari Om Patnaik (Akshay Kumar) is an upright and honest policeman who is transferred to Mumbai's crime branch as DCP. He arrives in Mumbai to find a team of officers on the make. Being a film having been made for the Police force, we are informed about their meager salaries etc etc and the reasons why bribery and corruption is rife within the system. But Hari Om is a man of strong values and will have none of it. His team consists of encounter specialist Inspector Appa Kadam Naik (Shetty), Sub-Inspector Vikram Singh (Shatrughan Sinha), and Constable Khaled Ansari (Rawal). Vikram Singh used to be a an honest officer until he was passed over for promotion and was beaten by the system.

In this conundrum of characters come the various villains…Yusuf Pathan (Irfan), his brother Rahul Dev, Gautam Walia (Jackie Shroff) and host of others which makes this a villains feast. Hari Om decides to take the straight and narrow but when his constable Khaled is killed in a shoot out and Kadam’s wife and kid are also attacked, he has a change of heart. Its now might against might and any which way goes. So the triumvirate pool their resources and go after the various villains.

The rest of the film is how the baddies are brought to task amongst a plethora of stunts and action pieces. In between all of this, we find time for a couple of dire item numbers and a scene or two for each of the ladies in the film.

Bhandarkar really comes a cropper in this film which is all style and little content. You can have style and a slick product but the director here does not seem at all in control of his medium. Much time is spent in the introductions for our heroes and certainly Akshay’s introduction and the fight scenes are choreographed for maximum effect but are of little consequence. The story is all over the place and the film does not maintain a slick pace. I loved Bhandarkar's use of split-screen action but what a shame it wasted on such a product. Nadiadwala’s touch is obviously there with the huge sets and the cheap item numbers, with scantily clad east European women strutting their stuff for the titillation of your front-bencher.

The saving grace of the film, and one that makes it watchable is the growth of Akshay Kumar as an actor. This is a very good and controlled performance. From being a Kung Fu hero, this boy has matured to become one of the leading actors of Bollywood. I believe he has a lot more to give and Aan is certainly a feather in his cap. Even Suniel Shetty does an extremely good job. Shatrughan Sinha plays to the masses. The less said about the girls, the better. With a fairly dire musical score, this film is really not worth the effort!