The movie follows undercover Las Vegas police officer Vincent Downs (Jamie Foxx) who has a connection to the criminal underworld as he scours a nightclub in search of his kidnapped son.
Alas, Andrea Berloff's screenplay has more holes than a trawlerman's net, none bigger than a gut-cut Foxx nursing a gaping wound for two-thirds of the picture while still managing to dodge bullets and roll with the punches.
The story soon loses focus and drops the ball by bringing in more characters than it can handle, instilling the movie with an unfocused energy which ultimately gives way for the absurdity of the script.
It might not be Donald Westlake, but it does its thing: meaningless, nonstop violence and movement, enacted by a large cast of characters who are only looking out to survive into the next scene.
Sleepless concludes with a stirring, surprising climax that effectively cements its place as an uneven yet entertaining contemporary actioner (albeit one that's right in line with its equally erratic predecessor).
We get muttering and glowering from Mr. Foxx, a story that can't manage enough twists to tie a shoelace, and set pieces that have been done better in other movies.
The listless, shoddy sort of remake where it feels like all of the characters have already seen the movie they're in, Sleepless reduces one of the best action films of the 21st century into one of the most benign.
It has been more than two years since Oscar-winning actor Foxx's last film, the family-friendly musical Annie. Too bad his return to the big screen is this snoozefest that left out the thrill from crime thriller.
