Every five or ten years a director or studio figures we need another one of these movies, with a teen hero wallowing in being fat/unloved/no car/no girlfriend/ no boyfriend/pimples/divorcing parents. He or she will have their own language with friends and peers and spend at least some time talking directly to camera or providing a voiceover.

The climax of the self-described ‘hip urban action trilogy’ by producer Joel Silver, Cradle 2 the Grave is a high-octane cocktail of motor-mouthed gangster chic, martial arts style and crystal meth plotting.

We live in an era where nothing is new under the sun. You only have to look at the Emo movement among today’s tweens to see that Heavy Metal — like all styles — will enjoy its day in the sun again again.