Ashes to ashes for pointless drama

ASH WEDNESDAY opens with bartender Sean Sullivan (Elijah Wood) working in a typically dreary Hell’s Kitchen drinking den.

He hears some heavies planning to kill his older brother, Francis (Ed Burns), so he shoots them all, but appears to get himself killed for his troubles.

We skip ahead a few years to 1983 where life seems to have gotten back to normal for Francis. That is until people start reporting sightings of Sean.

Francis tries to convince everyone that this is impossible, but the brothers of the dead heavies hear the rumours and decide a little revenge might be in order.

The rest of the film follows Francis as he tries to keep the heavies at bay while at the same time trying to sort out his brother’s life.

That’s about as exciting as it gets, but what else would you expect from director Ed Burns, the king of bland.