Stratton is the newest film from Simon West, which seeks to emulate the spy-thriller genre that has given the Bond and Bourne franchises such so much success. Despite being a new entrant into the genre, based on the books by Duncan Falconer, Stratton utterly fails to achieve anything even mildly original. This film goes down a wearying route, crossing off seemingly every stereotype and trope that could be dreamt up.

The films plot is standard British-Secret-Service-with-enigmatic-agent stuff; after losing a friend in an unrealistic botched Mission: Impossible-style operation, John Stratton (Dominic Cooper) and his ally Marty (Tyler Hoechlin) swear revenge on the mastermind behind the murder, a one-dimensional ex-KGB Dr. Evil, Grigori Barovsky. After a nose around in a bomb-maker’s  apartment in Rome to give the film its little Sherlock moment, the plot reaches its climax in a very Bond-like boat chase down the Thames.

The standout feature of the bullet hole-riddled plot is its sheer ability to cram so many spy-thriller clichés into one film: there’s an ample amount of shouting and shooting to ensure your eardrums aren’t napping, the dead soldier hasn’t yet seen his newborn baby, the counterintelligence agency is headed up by an authoritative M-type figure (Connie Nielsen), and an awful lot of rapid typing on computers with flashy graphics. There’s even a romantic subplot thrown in for good measure.

Unfortunately, none of these elements are well executed. The acting is subpar, the dialogue is trite, and the script is admirably liberated from any need for creative authenticity. Even the chase scenes have a rough, badly-edited feel to them, lacking the adrenaline of more polished blockbusters.

Stratton presented a prime opportunity to bring something fresh to a movie bracket which can feel repetitive and creatively stale, but it completely fails to deliver. Not even pulling its own weight, it relies on well worn tropes and bland action sequences to while away the time, before reaching its mundane maritime finale. Even within its own genre, its a poorly put together piece of work, failing to excite the audience. If this is the beginning of a new franchise, the next movie must make its mission to accomplish more.

Rating: ●●○○○