Today, I’m going to first make a quick comment on that awful Coca-Cola commercial now playing before movies. If you’ve seen a film since December you know what I’m talking about.

I can’t stand that Richard Jeni stand-up routine about why there shouldn’t be lobster tanks at movie snack bars.

I haven’t noticed much laughing during this reworked piece of Jeni’s routine. Here’s a hint at why it doesn’t work (other than the fact it’s not that funny): you shouldn’t have laugh tracks in a theater. They are for television sitcoms. I hate, hate, hate the whole damn lobsters-at-the-concession-stand routine.

You may think I’m overreacting, but keep in mind I’ve had to see this “comedy” bit twice a week for the past couple months. I now try to be 10 minutes late to the movies so I can avoid the whole lobster thing.

I chose to vent my feelings about Richard Jeni today because I just saw it again before “The Replacement Killers,” and there isn’t a lot to say about that film. It is the perfect example of style winning out over substance.

The movie looks absolutely great, a real visual feast. There just isn’t much in the way of a story. The plot exists merely as a time killer to fill up space between some very cool shootout scenes. And that’s OK.

Asian star Chow Yun-Fat makes his American movie debut in “The Replacement Killers” playing John Lee, an assassin for hire. Crime lord Mr. Wei hires Lee to perform a revenge murder — to kill the young son of a cop who killed Wei’s drug dealing son in the line of duty.

With the boy in his gun sights, Lee just can’t pull the trigger. So Wei sends killers after Lee, who spends the rest of the movie dodging bullets. Throw in Mira Sorvino as a document forger pulled into the fray as Lee’s unwilling sidekick, and you’ve got the basic plot.

Sorvino was most recently seen kicking giant roach ass in “Mimic” and plays another tough, ass-kicking gal here. I wonder if she’s trying to reinvent herself as an action actress. If she is, I have two words for her: Geena Davis.

The story is just a device to move us from one well-executed gunfight scene to another. The shootout scenes are so masterfully done and elaborately choreographed, though, the plot’s shortcomings don’t seem to matter all that much.

First-time film director Antoine Fuqua got his start directing television commercials, and “The Replacement Killers” sometimes has that quick-cut commercial feel to it. Fuqua has a real eye for exciting camera moves and a real talent for framing visual elements on screen.

The settings of the gunfights are great, too. One takes place inside an automated car wash. The characters dodge between those big spinning brushes.

Another shootout takes place at a movie theater, where audience members are watching a Mr. Magoo cartoon. The entire scene is intercut with bits from the cartoon which ads to the tension.

What “The Replacement Killers” lacks in story and character development, it makes up for in exciting action sequences and visual style. At 90 minutes, it doesn’t overstay its welcome and keeps you entertained with a little mindless fun.

Next week, maybe I’ll talk about those annoying butter drop commandos that parachute onto the bucket of popcorn and turn it an unnatural bronze color.

3 1/2 stars out of five

Mike Milik is a senior in advertising from West Des Moines.