Even Actors Can’t Save Us From Boredom

The new sci-fi action film “Virtuosity” has only two things going for it: Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. There’s little more that’s good about the dull “Virtuosity.”

Since the script is weak, it’s up to the two stars to carry the picture. Washington and Crowe do so to the best of their abilities, but the film ultimately falls short.

The plot has Washington playing Parker Barnes, a cop imprisoned for accidently mowing down two innocent people. Barnes is now the guinea pig for an experimental virtual reality program used to train police.

The being each user is pitted against is Sid 6.9, a computer-generated killer whose personality is made up of traits found in the most famous and brutal murderers.

Sid escapes and comes into the real world, embarking on a bizarre crime spree, and the bureaucrats think Barnes is the only man who can stop him. Barnes is released and the chase is on.

Most of the problems with “Virtuosity” stem from the script. There are too many coincidences and complications, not to mention some completely unnecessary scenes. The insipid plot twists are the worst. Is a pretty young psychologist really going to accompany a cop hunting a superhuman killer?

And then there’s the dialogue. With exchanges like, “The bomb squad will be here in five minutes,” “We haven’t got five minutes,” it’s extremely hard to take the film seriously.

The special effects are pretty neat, but they offer little entertainment value in the long run. The sequences in Sid’s cyberspace home, however, are the highlights.

Washington brings confidence and strength to his character, as he does in all his films. He’s even almost believable, but the script fails him in that department. Crowe has the flashier role as the flamboyant Sid 6.9. Insanely giggling and cracking one-liners, Crowe (the veteran of Australian films “Romper Stomper” and “Proof”) is funny, but never chilling, as Sid.

The same pitfalls that drag down many action films hurt “Virtuosity.” Bad jokes, the need to couple the hero with a beautiful sidekick, predictable action, fantastic coincidences and a perfectly tidy ending are every action movie’s diet.

“Virtuosity” tells basically the same story “Demolition Man” told last year, without anything startlingly new added to the mixture. Only fans of Washington or Crowe - or the really bored - need apply.

Grade: D+