It’s called the Loom of Fate. More like a bloody underground boot camp, where Gibson immediately undergoes training - repeatedly getting the living crap beaten out of him in brutally sadistic ways. For this moment onward, the reluctant rookie hit-man proceeds to be literally whipped into shape by butt kicker, man-slugging Fox.

This over-the-top, ultraviolent, hyperkinetic action thriller pretty much has it all. Bekmambetov, who started off in the ad industry, knows how to get a story going without bothering with preliminaries: set-pieces build in intensity, and each sequence is filled with stunning stunts (watch for the car chase scene of the year) and imaginative gimmicks. Not as dark as its source material, screenwriters Michael Brandt, Derek Haas and Chris Morgan maintain an adequately energized - but mind-boggling - outrageousness.

McAvoy (who is back with a solid American accent) gives a shrewdly calibrated performance as the morally conflicted weakling aching to bust loose. And our little Angelina? Well, the tattooed seductress's svelte frame slinks across the screen with an alluring animalism magnified by the steamy twinkle in her eyes. What more do you want?

Slam-bang action entertainment indeed. But, if you're looking for memorable dialogue and a gripping story, then you better set your sights somewhere else.