"What the problem is?" This, repeated really quite often, is presented as the irresistibly cheeky catchphrase of the movie's star: Martin Lawrence - the reasonably well-off man's Eddie Murphy. He's playing Earl, a would-be cop with plenty of 'tude, enjoying smirking success with the laydeez, but forced to make a living as a humble security guard. He teams up with Hank (Steve Zahn), a white ex-cop employed by the same dodgy outfit after being wrongly dismissed from the LAPD for giving Earl what looked to passers-by like a Rodney King-style beating - actually he was trying to swat a bee!

To answer Martin's question: the total lack of laughs or fun is what the problem is. I have in the past admitted, with a smidgen of guilt, to enjoying some of Martin Lawrence's big physical comedy. Black Knight made me laugh, and even What's the Worst that Could Happen had some roadworthy gags. But this? It's a lacklustre comedy thriller with weary and dated-looking tropes from the Police Academy, Beverly Hills Cop and Lethal Weapon series - and just about any of those films which used to have black-and-white cop cars spinning through the air and landing upside down. Steve Zahn is a smart comic performer from whom much is expected, but here he is given nothing to do. Being Martin Lawrence's straight man can't have been fun.