Crying Freeman

Based on an epic Japanese comic book of rare intelligence and detail, this is almost too reverential towards its source material: several sequences inspire déjà vu, having literally been story-boarded in the original manga; and both Dacascos, as the eponymous Chinese assassin who cries when he makes a hit, and Condra, as the virgin who falls for the soft-hearted hard man, look the part uncannily. Director Gans tries honourably to put the Art into martial arts, but comes fatally unstuck. Though slo-mo fight sequences distance the action from your traditional Jackie Chan beat-'em-ups, you find yourself longing for some good, old-fashioned shit-kicking. When we finally get it, and discover that Dacascos not only looks like Johnny Depp on steroids, but that he could whup Jean-Claude Van Damme's sorry ass as Hollywood's next action hero, you just wonder what took him so long.