Capsule reviews of new films

Capsule reviews of films opening this week:

"The Constant Gardener" - John le Carre's rich worlds of intrigue can be a tough sell on the big screen. Yet the assured directing of Fernando Meirelles and the fluid chemistry of Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz combine to place this latest among the best of le Carre adaptations. The film works only fitfully in its big-picture subject of heartless pharmaceutical executives and government officials putting dollars ahead of the lives of Kenyans being used as guinea pigs for an experimental tuberculosis drug. But Meirelles succeeds nicely on the personal front, presenting a bittersweet, tragic story of love and loss, faith shattered and restored. Fiennes plays a midlevel British bureaucrat in Kenya trying to solve the brutal murder of his activist wife (Weisz). Meirelles' energetic direction gives the film irresistible momentum despite its twisting, nonlinear structure, dense plot and a rather cliched gallery of villains. R for language, some violent images and sexual content/nudity. Running time: 130 minutes. Three stars out of four.

- David Germain, AP Movie Writer

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"Transporter 2" - Jason Statham is back as the world's baddest mailman, going postal on everyone in his way, including viewers suffering through this insufferable sequel. The laughably awful follow-up to 2002's sleeper action hit "The Transporter" has Statham's crackerjack driver-for-hire now living quietly in Miami, chauffeuring a 6-year-old rich kid. When the boy is kidnapped as part of a plot against his drug czar dad (Matthew Modine) the transporter is forced back into action with fists flying and guns blazing. Luc Besson, producing and co-writing again, and director Louis Leterrier have made an inanely plotted tale packed with preposterous action, lousy acting and cheesy effects. The original movie was no great prize, yet it looks like "The French Connection" compared to the sequel. PG-13 intense sequences of violent action, sexual content, partial nudity and brief language. Running time: 88 minutes. One star out of four.

- David Germain, AP Movie Writer

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"Underclassman" - Eddie Murphy, your legacy is safe. Sure, you've moved away from the fast-talking, smart-mouthed shtick that helped catapult you to stardom in '80s movies like "48 Hours" and "Beverly Hills Cop," and into warmer, fuzzier family fare. Seeing young Nick Cannon feebly pilfer your act only makes us miss you more. Certainly, it doesn't help Cannon's cause that the direction from Marcos Siega ("Pretty Persuasion") is pedestrian, that the script from Brent Goldberg and David Wagner (the team behind "My Baby's Daddy" and "The Girl Next Door") consists of little more than tired racial jokes and fish-out-of-water gags. But Cannon is no Murphy. He sure is trying, though, starring as a rookie bike cop who goes undercover at a. predominantly white Los Angeles private school to investigate a student's murder. He's so darn eager and likable (as he was in "Drumline") that you want to give him an A for effort. PG-13 for violence, sexual references, drug material and some teen drinking. 94 min. One star out of four.

- Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic