In the 1930s and '40s, the gangster as an anti-hero was a Hollywood staple.

Flash forward to the '70s and Michael Caine's Get Carter, the story of a hit man who vows revenge on his brother's killers.

Now it's the year 2000 and Jack Carter is back in the person of Sylvester Stallone.

On the surface, Stallone's Carter is every bit as menacing and single-minded as his screen predecessors, but it becomes apparent very quickly that he possesses a heart that can be thawed and a conscience that can be awakened.

Get Carter becomes a story of redemption rather than pure revenge and the shading ironically makes Jack Carter a less dynamic and interesting character.

Carter works as an enforcer for a Las Vegas loan shark. Years earlier, he cut himself off from his former life in Seattle, believing that even if you can go home again, you shouldn't.

Carter is forced to break his resolve when he learns of his brother's death in a drunken car accident, which he suspects was murder.

His sister-in-law Gloria (Miranda Richardson) and niece Doreen (Rachael Leigh Cook) are not the only ones who want Carter to leave Seattle.

His brother's boss Cliff Brumby (Caine), a wealthy computer magnate Jeremy Kinnear (Alan Cumming) and local mobster Cyrus Paice (Mickey Rourke) all have secrets they'd rather Carter not uncover.

He does, of course, and that makes Carter madder, badder and sadder.

Director Stephen Kay makes the obligatory car chases and fist fights as intense as possible.

They are jarring rather than effective because the rest of the film is composed of moody exchanges between the characters.

As Carter, Stallone's range is limited, but he's believable within it.

His best scenes are with Caine, Rourke and Cumming because they don't defer to him and that, in turn, challenges Stallone.

(This film is rated AA)

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