Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002)

FIREBOMB Liu and Banderas go ''Ballistic''

In 1995's ''Assassins,'' Antonio Banderas squared off against Sylvester Stallone as, well, assassins trying to, uh, assassinate each other. Now in Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, directed by Kaos (not ''Get Smart'''s evil organization, but a nom de film for Thai tyro Wych Kaosayananda), Banderas faces an even tougher adversary...would you believe, Lucy Liu? Actually, with her cruel beauty and kick-ass ''Charlie's Angels'' cred, it is kinda believable for the first half hour. Then the heretofore silent Liu speaks a line, and her baby-doll voice betrays her.

Letting his I-don't-give-a-damn stubble do his acting, Banderas plays Jeremiah Ecks, an ex-FBI agent racing Liu's killing machine, codenamed Sever, to recover a stolen plot device -- er, assassination device. ''Ballistic'' bombards moviegoers with a cacophony of automatic gunfire, exploding vehicles, and pseudo-techno music, but what else would you expect from a guy who lists Michael Bay as one of his influences? Kaos was apparently aiming for a coolly stylized, straight-faced take on ''Spy vs. Spy.'' As Maxwell Smart used to say, ''Missed it by that much.''