The first few minutes of Runteldat are its best, as they tell the story of a star who wants to get a thing or two off his chest. Actor/comedian Martin Lawrence faces up to all the bad choices he made in life, all the crap he's put himself through, and how much of a fool he's made himself into. This Lawrence is a somber one, admitting he's no different from any other human being; he's just as susceptible to the same flaws and troubles suffered by anyone else. But Lawrence is prepared to bounce back, to make things right with the world and re-enter the spotlight a reborn guy...or so it looks like from the start. Because when the pre-show short film ends, the lights burst on, and Lawrence takes the stage, he immediately launches into a ferocious display of comedy at its most inconsistent and scattershot.

Martin Lawrence Live: Runteldat, filmed during the Washington, D.C. leg of his tour, shows the star of Bad Boys and Black Knight getting back to the sort of intense social commentary that lifted his career off the ground in the first place. After introducing himself in the aforementioned confessional, Lawrence immediately gets into the action, making it a top priority to attack the critics who have put him down and sensationlized his personal life. In his extreme, profanity-laced rants, Lawrence talks about the uniting of races following September 11, and presents a crass view of fatherhood as well as a few items of general culture. Whatever issue he's on, Lawrence makes sure his voice is heard loud and clear, if not with that much substance in his arguments.

If there's one thing to be said about Martin Lawrence's follow-up to his popular concert film You So Crazy, it's that the flick is critic-proof, but unfairly so. With Runteldat,   you'll find out whether or not you're a true Lawrence fan. However, Lawrence makes it almost impossible to say anything bad about a film showing him doing what he does. Writing this review, I find myself having to choose my words carefully, because one wrong syllable could land me 50 different e-mails calling me a jerk for not laughing at Lawrence when he's speaking as if he were being paid according to the amount of profanity he uses. I did laugh at Lawrence's routine, as there are a few good observations to be seen, and Lawrence's energy and determination keep the show from dragging on. Still, for a good deal of the time, Lawrence seems overly desperate in getting laughs amd evokes nervous chuckles from audience members who appear unsure whether the comic is joking or flipping his gasket right on stage.

No doubt there's some truth in Martin's words and there's also a smidgen of talent hidden in this guy somewhere. But it's not easy to see, especially when his routine consists of mumbling, swearing, yelling, and cursing some more. Every time he started in again after taking a drink of water,  I expected him to yell out another four-letter word because, hey, it's his show, and damned if he can't do what he wants. Still, I do understand his remarks about certain critics, those people who have helped make a mockery of his private life in the tabloids, but apparently Lawrence is fixated on putting them in the same group as anyone who gave Big Momma's House a bad review. 

Lawrence has the talent to do something great. He's had it since his stand-up days, and he still has it now. But Martin Lawrence Live: Runteldat fails to bring out the best in him.  

MY RATING: ** (out of ****)

(Released by Paramount Pictures and rated "R" for strong crude sexual dialogue and pervasive language.)

Review also posted at www.ajhakari.com.