A competent performance from veteran action star Peter Walle and the occasional glimmer of a more interesting movie underneath can't save Rinaldo Spann's The Oden Connection from itself, with that better film caked under layers of inconsistent action and a script that barely staggers to the finish line.

Walle does his best in the lead role as Detective Investigator Luther Price, a man haunted, one might be forgiven for assuming, as much by being trapped in a world of subpar dialogue as he is by the spirit of his dead wife in a mob deal gone wrong. His dogged determination to wring as much sentiment and steely-eyed pathos from the script he was given is a more interesting plot than that of the film itself, with gritted teeth, longing glances toward vistas outside the confines of the set, and hints of desperate improvisation a running thread through an otherwise grim slog of car chases and intrigue. Price's quest to find the men who killed his wife is scarcely believable, and hinges largely on a series of unlikely coincidences set to the tune of composer Antonin Giantelli's discordantly upbeat score.

A breakout chase through the streets of Sen Caminola almost reaches the point of thrills, with Walle gamely weaving his way through shadowy balustrades in a running gunfight with trenchcoat-clad extras. Decent turns by Natalie Clark as Price's superintendent-slash-love interest and an unexpected Michael Nero playing the sort of mobster already done to death in countless 10's films are no match for a lack of emotional heart at the center of the story, where the audience is left rooting more for Walle to find himself a way out of the excruciating eight-minue monologue capping the climax than they are for a resolution for Price's tale.

With enough action to keep the viewer awake in the theater and the tragedy of Walle underneath the formulaic cinematography, The Oden Connection is enough to be worth the watch, if only to trace a tale more compelling than Spann's meager offering.

★★☆☆