Edge of Darkness sees Mel Gibson in the kind of full throttle, bruising role that made him a star in the first place.
He's a loner cop out for revenge, as mad as Mad Max, as lethal as Martin Riggs. It's clearly an attempted comeback from one of the great tough actors of the 80s and 90s.
And he's not alone; this year a number of veteran action stars are trying to get their careers back on track.
Stallone, Willis, Cruise, even Dolph Lundgren have movies out designed to remind us what they do, or did, best. Have we missed them, or with a new breed of moisturised, less meaty stars have we just moved on?
Let's start with Gibson, who takes on his first lead with Edge of Darkness since 2002's Signs. His retreat from in-front of the camera has largely been his choice.
In the meantime he's directed a religious blockbuster: The Passion of the Christ, and a Mayan language action movie: Apocalypto. What makes his comeback harder than most is that infamous drink drive incident of July 2006.
Sure, he's not the first. Indeed, in the late 90's Robert Downey Jr. being pulled over on the hard shoulder was a familiar sight in Hollywood. At one stage he was arrested for driving naked down Sunset Boulevard while trying to throw imaginary rats out of the window. And hey, here he is following Sherlock Holmes up with Iron Man 2 - likely to be one of the biggest hits of the year.
The difference is that when he was arrested Gibson let slip some rather ugly attitudes. He called a female sergeant "sugartits", and much worse, launched into an anti-Semitic rant against a Jewish officer. It's that which still leaves a sour taste.
Of course there's a chance that Gibson can improve his image, and relaunch himself as a mainstream action star. There's a chance that Tiger Woods might win husband of the year in 2011... but they're both long shots.
In August we get a look at The Expendables, and oh boy, you won't find a finer selection of vintage cheese anywhere this year - apart from on the dessert trolley at The Ivy. Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, Jason Statham, Eric Roberts and Sylvester Stallone who also directs. Plus a plot that promises mind-numbing action and a high body count - basically, a group of gnarly mercenaries scrap it out with a South American dictator and his private army.
As the 63-year-old Stallone puts it, "Man, it was seven guys kicking each others' ass," which makes you wonder if the actors got confused which side they were on.
Still, this year's guilty pleasure is already booked. It's like the Rolling Stones fighting the Bee Gees; you'd just have to see it.
Bruce Willis also gets a cameo in the Expendables, although it's just a single opening scene alongside Arnie Schwarzenegger. While Arnie has moved into politics, Bruce's screen career has been ticking along quite nicely.
What he needs, or okay, what we'd like to see, is a few more big juicy action roles from him. 2007's Live Free or Die Hard proved he's can still pack a punch at 54.
Next month's Cop Out might be the perfect return to his rule-breaking cop roots. It's directed by Kevin Smith, with Tracy Morgan as Willis's motor-mouth sidekick. If they manage to whip up some comic chemistry Willis might find himself with a new buddy cop franchise on his hands.
For a large chunk of the 90's, Tom Cruise was the biggest box office draw in the world. His Mission Impossible kept him in the A-list through the early 2000's.
But then things unraveled spectacularly in 2005. He first had a pop at Brooke Shields over her choice of prescription drugs. Then he appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show to plug War of the Worlds, and ended up hopping around on the sofa like a flea on a bongo. The PR machine had clearly gone off the rails.
Although War of the Worlds went on to make nearly $600 million worldwide, it was considered by some to have underperformed and Paramount Pictures ended their 14-year relationship with the star. Since then, Cruise has kickstarted United Artists, using the studio to steer Lion for Lambs and Valkyrie to the screen. Both rather interesting left-field features, but certainly not the maverick hero thrillers he's always been most comfortable in.
Knight and Day may change his fortunes though. He plays a mysterious agent who goes on the run with a ditzy stranger (Cameron Diaz). It looks promising. Plenty of cool gun action, rat-a-tat dialogue and Cruise looking invincible in Rayban Aviators - shades of Top Gun in both senses.
And finally there's the simply awesome Steven Seagal.
Later this year he gets a small role in a movie with, finally, a big director. Robert Rodriguez's Machete is a rare film that started out as a trailer. The short, spoofy teaser appeared in Grindhouse and since then fans have been crying out for a full length feature.
The result stars Danny Trejo as a Mexican assassin who's out for revenge, and has some impressive back-up. Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Lindsay Lohan and Don Johnson all put in an appearence. But it's Seagal as seedy drug lord who we're most excited about. Yes, Seagal, the stern-faced master of old school chopsocky. A man with all the speed and mobility of a stand up fridge. The only actor in the universe still working with a pony tail... Yes, if he can make it back, then anyone can.
