Parents' Guide to Black Warrant

This action movie seems complicated, with lots of characters and relationships all tangled up together, but it's also a confusing mess of loose ends that easily falls to pieces under scrutiny. Black Warrant was directed by Tibor Takács, whose name might be vaguely familiar to 1980s horror hounds due to his films The Gate (1987) and I, Madman (1989). But whatever he was able to accomplish back then is no longer in evidence, as the movie kicks off with several slow scenes of dull, wordy exposition, vainly trying to set up the web of activity that's to follow. (Somehow, the screenplay is based on a story by the actor Michael Paré!) As the story unfolds, it becomes apparent that nothing really matters. Some characters are killed, and other characters simply go about their normal business.

There's even time for the supposed hero, Anthony, to strike up a romance with a cook named Mina (Helena Haro) after a lackluster chase scene. When things finally come together and the connection between Nick and the DEA is made, it raises questions about who knew what and when. But don't expect a clear answer (other than that some screenwriter deemed that it should be so). The lazy, wobbly filmmaking provides no thrills and relies on the creakiest, most familiar old turns, from beginning to end (which promises a sequel of all things!). Only Oscar nominee Berenger gives any life to Black Warrant, with his patient, earthy portrayal as a burned-out assassin. His best scene has him ordering a "coco loco," a coconut drink/hangover cure. It has nothing to do with anything else, but it's the most honest moment in the movie, which needs any kind of cure it can get.