Sappy romances, weepy dramas, big summer blockbusters, straight to video crime thrillers – Josh Duhamel has done a little bit of everything in the world of movies, television, and even in major video games. Yet Duhamel is an actor who has never quite gotten the recognition he deserves. A part of that is due to the movies he has played in. But even then, Duhamel routinely rises above the material or makes the films he’s in better.

His latest feature is a good showcase for Duhamel’s range and versatility. “London Calling” is an action/crime comedy from Canadian director Allan Ungar. Written by the trio of Ungar, Levin Menekse, and Quinn Wolfe, “London Calling” sees Duhamel playing Tommy Ward, a hitman with bad eyesight who opens the film by botching a job in London. It’s a mistake that ultimately follows him through the rest of the film.

While at a fancy London night club, Tommy mistakenly kills the distant relative of a powerful mobster named Freddy Darby (Aidan Gillen). Freddy is determined to avenge his family member, not out of any deeply felt pain (he doesn’t even know the guy), but because it’s what gangsters stereotypically do. His comical fixation on ‘family’ sets up one of the film’s better running jokes. As for Tommy, he’s forced to flee to Los Angeles, leaving his young son in London with his frustrated ex-wife.

A year passes and Tommy now works for a despicable low-rent LA crime boss named Benson (Rick Hoffman). Tommy desperately wants to go see his son, so Benson makes him a deal. In exchange for safe passage into London, Tommy must agree to take Benson’s son Julian (Jeremy Ray Taylor) on his next hit job. Why, you ask? Julian is more interested Fortnite, larping, and bears (yes, bears) than following in his father’s footsteps. Benson wants Tommy to toughen up his socially awkward son and teach him how to “become a man”.

The rest of the film plays like a buddy-cop movie minus the cops. Amid the steady waves of action and amusement, Duhamel and Taylor have a blast and feature a fun comic chemistry. The job they are given involves a lethal assassin who has gone off the deep end (Neil Sandilands), his overly protected brother (Brandon Auret), and inevitably Freddy and his goons from the UK. It’s a bit all over the place, making Tommy and Julian’s burgeoning friendship far more interesting.

With “London Calling”, Allan Ungar delivers an entertaining melding of big action and straightforward comedy. While the action is serviceable, it’s the sheer number of good laughs that surprises most. Meanwhile Akexander Chinnici’s vibrant sun-bathed cinematography captures the colorful diversity of Southern California despite being shot in South Africa. But the cast is the main attraction, led by Duhamel whose versatility enables him to bring everything his character and the movie needs. In theaters September 19th.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS