Lawrence.com

Dallying with romance, crime, dysfunctional families and possibly the supernatural, "Angel Eyes" crams a lot of choice topics into just shy of a couple of hours. That running time seems longer because writer Gerald Dipego and director Luis Mandoki (the team behind "Message in a Bottle") never commit to one theme long enough to really pull a viewer in. When it's all over, "Angel Eyes" feels like an exhausting flirtation instead of a full-out seduction. That's a bit of a downer considering that it features the normally smoldering Jennifer Lopez and James Caviezel ("Frequency").

Lopez plays yet another cop. This time she's Sharon "Pogo" Pogue, who seems to get a real thrill from beating and harassing the criminals of Chicago. This sadistic streak may have something to do with being employed alongside male co-workers whose boorish come-ons get stale. Her home life isn't much better. Her mom (Sonia Braga) and dad (veteran creepazoid actor Victor Argo) are renewing their vows even though Sharon once arrested him for punching her mother. At the rate they're going, the family seem to be well on their way to a morning talk show.

Even a conventional blind date becomes traumatic as a potential suitor becomes a little too interested in hearing about the aggression in her work This may explain why she sometimes lounges around her apartment in a bullet-proof vest.

When the pursuit of a pair of drive-by shooters almost ends in her own death, a mysterious fellow leaps on top of one of the gunmen, giving her just enough time to cuff the crook. He seems rather amiable (unasked, he warns neighbors they've left keys in their doors), but he looks more like the sort of person Sharon would bust. He's always wearing the same trench coat and T-shirt and identifies himself only as "Catch." He says plenty of bizarre things (like how couples who were meant for each other can smell their fate and that he no longer feels dead anymore). His haunted gaze implies there's more to him than an odd guy who doesn't work and collects action figures. Compared to the other men in her life, Catch lives up to his name. Weird as he is, Sharon cheerfully cooperates when he starts to smooch on her.

Dipego leaves a good share of phony clues toward Catch's freakish behavior (is he even human?) and, at times, one can be grateful that he and Mandoki show a bit of restraint with the outlandish setup. They don't go overboard with the mysticism, and Mandoki creates a convincingly harsh atmosphere (getting Toronto to double for the Windy City) to balance the sappy love story. In fact, much of the early portions of "Angel Eyes" play more like an action movie.

As she demonstrated in "Out of Sight," Lopez can do far more than wear revealing outfits at awards ceremonies. Her soft voice belies a fearsome bearing that makes it both believable and fun to watch her subdue a perp. It often seems sexier when she gives potential jailbirds what they deserve than when she makes goo-goo eyes at Caviezel. Lacking the sort of thermonuclear chemistry she had with George Clooney in "Out of Sight," her attraction to her new costar never quite rings true. Without that singular unspoken bond, all of the semi-nude groping in the world can't compensate.

Like Lopez, Caviezel has his best moments alone. His intense stare makes him appear as if some strange otherworldly force is running through him. He's also a good enough actor to make a horridly sappy monologue delivered near the end seem genuinely moving.

Dipego and Mandoki would have done well to excise the scenes with Sharon's home life. They are unimaginative and offer little more than psychobabble. "Angel Eyes" might have benefited from simply letting Sharon be an ass-kicking cop. Did Dirty Harry ever need an explanation for his behavior? As with his earlier "Instinct," Dipego almost ruins an intriguing setup by offering clich�d motivations.

Because the leads are fine on their own, "Angel Eyes" is far from a complete waste. Nonetheless, the film ultimately disappoints because it combines solid actors and potent ideas into a mixture that's less than divine.