Review: ‘Erased’ lacks originality but not cliches

The thriller “Erased” divides neatly by influence. When Brussels-based tech security expert Ben Logan (Aaron Eckhart) shows up for work one day, there’s no trace of his company anymore, a la “Three Days of the Condor.” Like the “Bourne” movies, he’s then targeted for elimination, (when we learn he’s actually ex-CIA and highly skilled at killing). He’s also a single dad with a teenage daughter (Liana Liberato) in tow, and that creates its fair share of peril, “Taken” you very much.

As with many one-man-against-an-international-conspiracy movies, details like who did what, when, for which piece of information and why it’s so important mean little once the chases, spy moves and fights hit cruise control.

As warmed-over as the material is, director Philipp Stölzl (“North Face”) does show flair for the kind of cool action best achieved in European urban locales. But screenwriter Arash Amel’s dialogue is simply the chunkiest mix tape of clichés (“It was an executive decision!” “I don’t even know who you are!” “How did you become everything we fought against?!”). Eckhart and Liberato may not act as if they’re in Retread-land — Olga Kurylenko, meanwhile, as a CIA handler, barely acts at all — but this “Erased” is eminently forgettable.

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“Erased.” Rated R for violence. Running time: 1 hour, 44 minutes. Playing at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres.