In his latest action film, Vin Diesel, the bald muscular bolt of testosterone tapped to replace Schwarzenegger and Stallone, does what he does best. Here he’s Sean Vetter, a hardboiled DEA agent with a renegade past much like his persona in XXX. After a seven-year operation, Sean takes down a Mexican drug kingpin (Geno Silva pilfering Fernando Rey’s performance in The French Connection). In response, his wife is assassinated, and a new foe, Diablo, rears his head, turning this potentially smashmouth crime drama into a bombastic revenge flick.

F. Gary Gray’s direction offers plenty of pizzazz, though at times the edgy freneticism addles the already incoherent twist-within-a-twist story — there are more plot holes than bullet holes. Diesel’s seething bravado goes a long way, but even he’s defeated by the overblown material. Lorenz Tate tags along as Sean’s partner and voice of reason, and Timothy Olyphant is deliriously over the top as the foppish salon owner who sets up deals north of the border. (109 minutes)