Title, basic premise and US jingoism aside, absolutely nothing connects this spurious sequel to the movie that tried to pass off Owen Wilson as a serious action hero.

Where Wilson’s airman got the better of baddies in the Balkans, now it’s time for those North Korean ne’er-do-wells to see what they get when they mess with the US military machine.

The OC’s Nicholas Gonzalez leads the way as Lt Bobby James, a slippery little SEAL with prone to lots of flashbacks featuring his tough-but-fair drill sergeant Keith David.

The North Koreans are sneaking a nuclear warhead around and President Peter Coyote and his staff don’t like the look of it. Only good, honest, peace-loving superpowers are allowed to sneak bombs around.

But before they blow the country to Kim Jong-come, the Pentagon despatches James and his unit on a covert operation to neutralise the threat. The flight doesn’t go too smoothly, leaving James and three buddies stuck in the middle of hostile territory.

Naturally, the White House can’t have this act of aggression look like an aggressive act, so the boys are on their own against swarms of sadistic Commies - with no rescue forthcoming.

Oh, and Washington is about to launch Plan B which will knock out the nuke but will probably result in a million fatalities in the region, give or take.

Writer-director James Dodson is evidently a fan of 24, even down to the casting of Glenn Morshower (the TV show’s stoical bodyguard Aaron Pierce) amidst solid performers like Coyote, Denis Arndt and Ben Cross.

Bruce McGill also provides good cover as one of those generals who make you wonder how they got so far in the military since every single one of their suggestions and decisions is overruled.

It’s also nice to see the South Koreans having their say… even though they’re roundly ignored too. Ultimately, the film’s subtitle - Axis of Evil – makes its position on Korean affairs pretty clear.

If the politics won’t convince anyone, then neither will the action sequences. This hurts the movie much more as Dodson fatally mistakes hectic editing for excitement.

His digitally shot jumbles of speed-up, slow-mo and freeze-frame are confusing and tiresome, and the special effects are sub-PS3 standard (one virtual parachutist looks like an Action Man on a washing line).

Indeed, playing Splinter Cell for 90 minutes offers a more exciting and realistic combat experience.

Elliott Noble