The Tattooed Stranger

I'm willing to not call this bad, but there's no way to call it good either. The script is ok, even if it has some horrible jokes in it. The detectiving part is reasonably interesting and coherent, and the book-smart cop and female scientist are treated quite well. The performances, however, leave a lot to be desired, and even by non-noir standards the cinematography is very plain. I did enjoy it a bit from time to time, but it's mediocre at best.

Lousy. The performances are terrible, with everyone either too wooden or way too sunny. The whole thing has an absurdly jaunty feel to it, and the silly music doesn't help. Nor does the script, filled with awful exposition, bad jokes, and far too flippant in tone. As a police procedural it brings nothing new to the table, and the action scenes are oddly sluggish. There are maybe one or two interesting details, and the location photography is actually pretty good. But the rest of it stinks.