In real life there are very few superheroes, serial killers and hit men, yet it seems like their stories make up 50 percent of Hollymood movie plots.

It's not really fair, but who is going to argue with a superhero, serial killer or hit man?

"Bangkok Dangerous" -- an Americanized remake of the 1999 Asian hit by the original's writer/director tandem of Danny and Oxide Pang ("The Messengers") -- is the latest hit-man flick and it doesn't really add much to the genre.

Nicolas Cage takes another unfortunate starring role as the sullen assassin Joe. Joe is good at his job, but he wants out. After one more big job in Thailand, he's going to slip away and retire to wherever old hit men retire. If only it was that simple "¦

Cage, who also gets a producer credit, gives a good effort. His killer is dark and brooding; ruthlessly efficient on the job but awkward in the world of real people. He seems real and dangerous until he begins to let others into his private world.

His final job is to assassinate four separate targets in Bangkok. To help, he enlists a disposable local street hustler as an errand boy. Shahkrit Yamnarm is likable as the unfortunately named Kong, who somehow ingratiates himself to the killer and becomes sort of an apprentice -- "Karate Kid" style but with more deadly consequences.

As Joe goes about his work, however, a twinge of conscience begins to surface. A ludicrous romantic subplot with an impossibly sweet and accommodating deaf pharmacist (Charlie Young) doesn't help his mindset. Or the movie, for that matter.

The film has a couple of nice action sequences, but it generally moves at a ponderous pace. Unlike the summer's hit-man success, "Wanted," "Bangkok Dangerous" doesn't have anything in it that doesn't seem familiar or borrowed. The Pang twins also opt for a heavy dose of "atmosphere," which only serves to make exotic, dangerous Bangkok seem dull and boring.

It's probably safe to skip this one and wait for whatever serial-killer movie is stalking around the corner.

Rental Recommendation: John Cusack's "Grosse Pointe Blank" gives a much funnier look at a disenchanted hit man. Grade: B+