Twist endings are a tricky business. They can either be a great cap-off to an absorbing tale or the last futile stop on a miserable cinematic journey. Slow Burn falls somewhere in between. A megaton box office bomb upon release this past spring, it certainly isn't a great movie, due to over-relying on plot twists and corny dialogue to seem cooler than it is. But despite these undeniable shortcomings, Slow Burn remains a pretty watchable movie.  

Ford Cole (Ray Liotta) is a popular district attorney who's on the fast track to clinching an upcoming mayoral election. All's well with his political quest, until he gets word that his assistant D.A., Nora Timmer (Jolene Blalock), has shot and killed a man (Mekhi Phifer) in her own home. A bi-racial woman with a smashing record of landing gang crime convictions, Timmer claims she was raped and acted in self-defense. Her story seems to check out, until the enigmatic Luther Pinks (LL Cool J) shows up with a completely different take on it. Instead of a victim who acted on instinct, Luther paints Timmer as a seductress who got close to the deceased in order to put an elusive gang leader behind bars for good.

If Luther's story is the truth, then it could turn out to be bad news for Ford, who has a reputation for wanting to take down said gang lord at all costs. With  Luther's tale growing more complex -- and the clock ticking, as a mysterious incident that's supposed to take place at 5 A.M. is growing nearer -- Ford will have to decipher what's real and what's a lie.

Although Slow Burn sounds busy enough so far, this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are also hidden relationships, commentary on topics like class and race, shady real estate deals, and a bevy of supporting characters. It's like an explosion at the Plot Factory, a film that tries overcompensating for a so-so main story by shoving in as many bells and whistles as possible. While something like this would be at home in an epic crime saga, Slow Burn is a modest, star-driven thriller that would be better off adopting a "less is more" mentality. There's just too much going on here. Those neverending turns and moments of cinematic sleight-of-hand are cool for a while, but they're too obvious distractions, wearing out their welcome when the film finds itself overloaded with too many plot threads and can't back up its ambitious themes.

Still, in some ways this overly complex style of storytelling is kind of fun. Granted, you need one of those baseball programs to figure out who's double-crossing whom, but it's sort of intriguing to see what weird plot progressions writer/director Wayne Beach will pull out of his head next. Slow Burn is also a handsomely-made production, looking very good for a movie with a $15 million budget and working well with several shadowy, nighttime scenes.

The acting here is decent as well, with fine turns from Liotta as the befuddled Ford and the very versatile Chiwetel Ejiofor as a journalist pulled into the fray. LL Cool J, however, gets stuck with some of the script's goofier lines (all involving using the smell of food to describe people), and in what should be a crucial role, Blalock does a sub-par job. Her character is written and built-up as a chameleon of sorts who can pass herself off as white or black whenever she pleases -- but right from the start, she looks like a cross between Ashley Judd and Hilary Swank with braids. Blalock fails to convey to convey Timmer's background and personality.

Slow Burn reminds me a lot of Perfect Stranger, another adult-themed thriller from earlier this year. Both movies overthink themselves and make their respective plots too complicated for their own good.  At least Slow Burn is an easier pill to swallow. 

MY RATING: ** 1/2 (out of ****)

(Released by Lionsgate and rated "R" for sexuality, violence and language.)