El aroma del Copal

The script for "Scent of Vengeance" simply isn't strong enough to make it work as an adult drama or as a political treatise, and yet it lacks the degree of flashy action expected by those seeking an adventure movie. The result lies in kind of a cinematic limbo, not really good enough to recommend and yet not quite bad enough to give a thumbs-down. Maybe only die-hard James Brolin fans constitute this movie's core audience, and yet -- despite top billing -- he plays a secondary role.

Jay Roberts jr. plays the central character -- a petro engineer from Dallas who's sent to an oil-field operation in the jungles of Central America. He seems a bit "wussy" to fill this character's boots, but he's likeable enough and in his nude sex scene with Seidy Lopez, (discreetly shot through mosquito netting), he displays buns as well-sculpted as the Elgin Marbles and his hip-thrusts are perfectly timed to plausibly evoke that "Yes! Yes! Yes!" response from his partner.

Brolin, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have his heart in this project and sometimes drifts into overacting.