The Big Hit

This ripe, noisy action flick is loaded with block-clearing explosions and testosterone-charged showdowns. In short, it's right out of a page of Jerry Bruckheimer or John Woo -- who happens to be one of the film's executive producers.

Hot Boogie Nights star Mark Wahlberg anchors the action as Melvin, a hit man with a heart who's exploited by his compatriots, led by Lou Diamond Phillips in a campy, over-the-top performance, and by the two women in his life, his sassy girlfriend (Lela Rochon) and his borscht-belt fiancée (Christina Applegate showing some acting range in clingy garb). All they want from Melvin is his money, and he doesn't have enough to go around. That's why he agrees to go on a rogue assignment with Phillips to kidnap a Japanese billionaire's daughter (a devastatingly sensual China Chow). The job goes sour and Phillips and Wahlberg end up in a bullet blazing, mano-a-mano duet, much like Woo's Face/Off, but without its stylistic edginess. This is an obvious box-office vehicle for Wahlberg, but the complex, sensitive nature of his character detracts from the high-powered stuff. He looks beleaguered in the contrived comedy-action mix, not knowing whether to kick ass or kiss it. At the Cheri, the Fresh Pond, and the Circle and in the suburbs.

-- Tom Meek