VIRTUOSITY

STARRING Denzel Washington, Kelly Lynch, Russell Crowe, Stephen Spinella.

DIRECTED BY Brett Leonard.

APPARENTLY OPERATING on the belief that one psychotic maniac per summer action movie isn't enough, the makers of this futuristic thriller created Sid 6.7 (Crowe), a perfectly coiffed, devastatingly handsome, computer-generated amalgam of 183 serial killers who acquires free will and escapes from cyberspace. "He looks like the Hanes underwear model from hell," says Lynch, who plays a criminal psychologist helping a homicide detective (Washington) track Sid down. Lynch, who took the role "because I always wanted to be Steve McQueen," says that her on-screen relationship with Washington is a working partnership only. "You hear about how interracial characters aren't supposed to kiss, but that's not true," she says. "There was no romance in the script, and we decided to keep it that way." (Aug. 4)

WHAT'S AT STAKE Washington could consolidate his standing as an action hero if he can overcome that silly blue vinyl costume, but Crowe could steal the show (think John Malkovich in In the Line of Fire).

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