REVIEW / ACTION THRILLER

SLEEPLESS (NC16)

95 minutes/Opens tomorrow/2/5 stars

The story: Las Vegas vice cops Vincent Downs (Jamie Foxx) and Sean Cass (T.I.) rob a shipment of cocaine belonging to casino boss Stanley Rubino (Dermot Mulroney), who has promised it to the vicious mobster Rob Novak (Scoot McNairy). Vincent has to return the drugs when his son gets abducted. Meanwhile, internal affairs agents Jennifer Bryant (Michelle Monaghan) and Doug Dennison (David Harbour) are on his case. A remake of the French film Sleepless Night (2011).

It has been more than two years since Oscar-winning actor Foxx's last film, the family-friendly musical Annie (2014). Too bad his return to the big screen is this snoozefest that left out the thrill from crime thriller.

Is Vincent a dirty cop or an undercover cop? Somehow, the question is not very interesting when clearly, he is a super one who can run, jump and fight on despite getting knifed - the occasional wince is all he seems to suffer.

There is a mole thrown into the proceedings as well though the identity of the snitch is unlikely to surprise anyone.

As is the case for too many generic crime flicks, the police are shockingly inept and Monaghan's (Source Code, 2011) character is both annoying and ineffectual.

The ludicrous final act manages to rope in Vincent's ex-wife (Gabrielle Union) before things are neatly resolved.

The French-Belgian-Luxembourg original premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was well received. Did something get lost in translation?

Boon Chan