
DATE: Saturday, October 11, 1997            TAG: 9710130227

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E6   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Movie review 

SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC 

                                            LENGTH:   58 lines

``MOST WANTED'' OFFERS LITTLE TO LIKE

COULD WE just laugh, Keenen?

The only surprising thing about the rather routine action flick called ``Most Wanted'' is that funnyman Keenen Ivory Wayans is trying to be Steven Seagal or Chuck Norris or SOMEONE like that. His fans, for the first few minutes, will cool their heels, thinking it MUST be a spoof. As the oh-so-serious stuff grinds on, they'll be puzzled to realize that Keenen is playing it straight.

He plays a much-honored Gulf War veteran who goes berserk and kills his commanding officer (in self-defense, of course). He's on death row, but the shadow of the ``Dirty Dozen'' looms somewhere in the mind of wacky commanding meanie Jon Voight. Voight, with a Southern accent that goes over the line no matter where the Mason-Dixon Line may be, makes a deal. If the former super-Marine will assassinate a wealthy industralist (Robert Culp), arrangements will be made to set him free.

Anyone who can believe this is a serious offer deserves to be chased around the block, and that's exactly what the Wayans character gets.

It's a frame-up, Keenen. Get the picture? A shot from another building wipes out the first lady, who is accompanying Culp, and it's all pinned on Keenen.

A movie that is part ``Mission: Impossible'' then switches to ``The Fugitive.''

Wayans, who created ``In Living Color'' for TV, can't resist, happily, a few funnies - such as pointing out that a girl who claims she has a boyfriend has too many empty ice cream cartons in her apartment to be telling the truth. Or kidding that his hairless hairdo a dig at Montel.

Paul Sorvino and Eric Roberts, both known to be overacters, are relatively subdued as mild-mannered lawmen. Voight's extremes were apparently considered enough in the overacting category. Jill Hennessy (formerly of TV's ``Law and Order'') is the requisite female doctor - a woman with a camera who can prove Keenen innocent.

There's a crash of 20 automobiles that is pointless. There's a jump off a 48-story building that is laughable. There's a woman who, for no discernible plot reason, emerges from a swimming pool topless.

Director David Glenn Hogan tries to hide all the implausibilities by simply turning up the sound. This is one of the loudest movies around - signifying nothing. ILLUSTRATION: NEW LINE CINEMA

Keenan Ivory Wayans, left, and Jon Voight star in ``Most Wanted.''

Graphic

MOVIE REVIEW ``Most Wanted''

Cast: Keenen Ivory Wayans, Jon Voight, Jill Hennessy, Paul

Sorvino, Robert Culp

Screenplay: Keenen Ivory Wayans

Director: David Glenn Hogan

MPAA rating: R (F word, topless scene)

Mal's rating: one and 1/2 stars