Review: ‘Guardian Angel’ takes on a few too many sins

The thoroughly undistinguished crime drama “Guardian Angel” recycles so many of the genre’s most frequently used tropes that it feels more like a reenactment of previous movie bits than anything remotely original.

Writer-director Vahik Pirhamzei stars as Ray, a haunted L.A. security company owner hired to safeguard Vicki (Justine Wachsberger), an aspiring young model visiting from Toronto. It seems that her accountant father (Christopher Atkins) has embezzled big bucks from a vicious former client, human trafficker Sarkoff (Colin Cunningham), who’s targeted Vicki as collateral to ensure his money’s return.

Ray’s not the world’s most vigilant security guy but he can throw a punch, so he quickly becomes a thorn in Sarkoff’s side. Meanwhile, Vicki develops an icky crush on the dad-like Ray, her real father falls into a coma, a local cop (Bokeem Woodbine) gets implausibly involved in the Ray-Sarkoff mess, Ray battles his late wife’s family for an inheritance, and Vicki auditions for a perfume commercial.

Did I mention Ray’s heart condition, his ongoing hunt for the hit-and-run driver who killed his wife and his convoluted solution for repaying Sarkoff?

Then there’s the film’s climactic take-out-the-trash showdown. Over-the-top would be an understatement.

Aside from too many characters and story strands, the dialogue is hackneyed and the acting subpar, starting with the movie’s lead. Better to watch Pirhamzei in 2012’s “My Uncle Rafael,” an amusing reality TV send-up he co-wrote that was clearly more in his wheelhouse.

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“Guardian Angel”

MPAA rating: R for violence including a sexual assault, language and brief drug use.

Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes.

Playing: At AMC Burbank Town Center 8; Pacific’s Glendale 18.