Child 44 is one of the biggest wastes of talent in years, a serial killer thriller with a lot of Russian accents and a noticeable absence of thrills.

Starring Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, Jason Clarke, Paddy Considine and Gary Oldman, the cast may not have the A-list starpower as last year’s biggest waste--The Monuments Men--but they do have considerable talent.

Talent that director Daniel Espinosa (Safe House) and writer Richard Price (Ransom) squanders in brilliant fashion.

At a painful 137 minutes, Child 44 is a dull, drab affair in line with the Soviet style of the time. The movie meanders characters we don’t care about--Hardy, subdued by a Russian accent, plays his least energetic character to date--through a plot full of bureaucracy, political backstabbing, upset parents and other mind-numbing endeavors. There is too little of the good stuff and it comes way too late to matter.

Child 44 may have an enticing cast, but it’s a waste of talent and your time.

Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.