I could complain endlessly about the nonsensical script and ridiculous characterizations of the new DMX-Steven Seagal cop movie, "Exit Wounds," but I won't. Let's get one thing straight: the recent success of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" aside, people don't go to see martial arts movies for the story and the characters. They go to watch badasses try to kill each other, preferably with some style or skill.

At one point, Steven Seagal was a bona fide badass. In bone-crushing fare like "Marked for Death" and "Under Siege," Seagal set himself apart from the daredevilry of Jackie Chan and the balletic artistry of Jet Li. He added no-nonsense offensive techniques to the deft joint locks and throws of traditional aikido to give audiences something rarely seen on the silver screen: realistic street-fighting.

But oh how the mighty hath fallen. Even the action sequences in "Exit Wounds" are lame. Hampered by confusing editing and choreography which attempts to turn him into a Hong Kong-style acrobat, Seagal is unable to cut loose in his old style, and for the most part he looks fat, old and clumsy.

When he's not fighting hand-to-hand, he's popping off machine gun-totting baddies and blowing up helicopters with a tiny but incredibly powerful pistol that apparently never misses.

The marketers' tagline for the movie is "This is gonna hurt." Well, they can't be accused of false advertising.