With a poorly developed plot line and acting devoid of any emotion, City By The Sea drowns its audience, leaving viewers gasping for breath.

Undeveloped characters and an overall stale theme turn this so-called action flick into little more than a B-movie bore.

According to its official Web site, City By The Sea is based on Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Mike McAlary’s 1997 Esquire article “Mark of a Murderer.” Set in the drug-infested streets of Long Beach, NY, the film follows detective Vincent LaMarca (Robert De Niro) on the hunt for a killer. Learning that the primary suspect in the case is his son, Joey (James Franco), LaMarca must decide where his loyalties lie.

Passing as a cop thriller in the trailers, City by the Sea does not deliver.

Instead of a roller coaster ride of gun-slinging excitement, the film descends into the depths of sloppy melodrama. The actors muddle through their performances and barely skim the emotional level of the lines written. It is hard to believe this film had a cast of Academy Award and Golden Globe winners.

De Niro’s performance was disappointing. Where was the moving sentiment seen in classics like The Godfather II, Heat and Raging Bull? Let’s hope that De Niro’s tired performance is just a fluke and not the product of years of type casting. There is hope. If Robin Williams can break out of his comedic mold and portray a psycho killer, anything is possible.

Franco has the attitude of James Dean and roughish good looks of Matt Dillon. His gripping portrayal of a drug-addict is well-noted, yet cannot save the film from disaster.

The female leads were never given the opportunity to shine. The characters made sporadic appearances and didn’t have enough screen time to mature. The plot was not well developed and it was hard for audiences to empathize with characters’ plights and grievances. Frances McDormand, playing LaMarca’s girlfriend, produced more emotion than a majority of the characters. The screenwriters should be raked across the coals for not giving her more lines and shame on them for leaving audiences in bewilderment wondering what happened to her at the movie’s end.

Lacking originality and bogged down in exaggerated sentiment, City by the Sea will inevitably be lost in the annals of bad movies starring good actors – until then, throw this movie a life preserver because it’s dead weight.