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Alfred Hitchcock and Cecil B. DeMille might have been able to successfully redo their own movies, but more recent auto-remakes, especially ones that find directors cranking out a U.S. version of their own foreign-language hit, have been a motley crew.

What do you call an action movie manned by people who look as if they don’t want to be there? An inertia movie? Action movies aren’t just about action — they’re also about presence, about watching appealing or compelling personalities go about the business of kicking ass.

You may groan by saying that Robert De Niro is back with another movie just to pay his mortgage but take heed, at least Clive Owen is there with him and Jason Statham is even tagging along.