Code Name: The Cleaner C-

A Film Review By Stefan Vlahov

Hate him or hate him, Cedric the Entertainer will keep making movies. Same goes for director les Mayfield whose last film was The Man. it is obvious that after a bomb like that the only way you can get a job on a film like Code Name: The Cleaner is if you have major connections, or be friends with the star and executive producer Cedric the Entertainer. Actually, Cedric might not have been completely wrong with his choice of director, because Mayfield did direct the funny Martin Lawrence vehicle Blue Streak. Still, Martin Lawrence is pretty easy to direct - just let him run loose and you have yourself a pretty entertaining picture. With Cedric, Lucy Liu and Nicolette Sheridan, that is definitely not the case. All three can be a bit dull if what's coming out of their mouth isn't that interesting. That's true for both Sheridan and Liu even though they look very good in the frequently skimpy outfits they wear. Honestly how can you expect more than below average and nearly unwatchable from a film spoof these days? Especially when it's a spoof of the now-annoying spy genre. As the bad guy in the film, Mark Dacascos puts the final nail in the coffin of his career. What happened to the Dacascos from Brotherhood of the Wolf? I know for a fact he can do better, and deserves better than what he is given here, but in the end I could care less. If he's an actor that's only doing it for the money and not for the actual art form he doesn't deserve my respect anyways. This film should be forgotten and buried, and it is very likely it will be, since the few amusing moments in the film are simply not enough to make one viewing worth it.