Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever

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Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever ★½Ecks vs. Sever 2002 (R)

Awkwardly titled actioner stars Banderes as Ecks, a disillusioned former FBI manhunter mourning his dead wife. Liu is code-name Sever, a former government-trained assassin. Ecks has been rehired to track Sever for kidnapping the son of her former boss Gant (Henry), chief of the Defense Intelligence Agency. Both agents are also on the lookout for a supposedly dangerous and supremely ridiculous techno virus. Once the operatives find they have a lot in common, including a common enemy, they join forces to gun down and blow up everything in sight. Superb, if overdone stunts take top billing, while dim lighting matches equally dim plot. Neophyte director Kaos (short for Kaosayananda) cops all the moves of “The Matrix.” Based on the far more entertaining video game. 95m/C VHS, DVD . US Antonio Banderas, Lucy Liu, Gregg Henry, Ray Park, Talisa Soto, Miguel (Michael) Sandoval, Terry Chen, Sandrine Holt, Roger R. Cross, Steve Bacic, Aidan Drummond; D: Kaos; W: Alan B. McElroy; C: Julio Macat; M: Don Davis.