At first glance, “Stuber” seems to be one of those dumb summer action comedies. Guess what? It is. Proving yet again you should always trust your instincts.

Wrestling superstar Dave Bautista (a scene-stealer in “Guardians of the Galaxy”) plays a Los Angeles cop seeking vengeance for his slain partner, Sara (Karen Gillan, also from “Guardians”). She’s killed in the movie’s overwrought opening shoot-out in a downtown-L.A. hotel, where strangely neither officer calls for backup.

Naturally, Tripper Clancy’s script pairs Vic with a mild-mannered Uber driver named Stu (hence the title) played by Kumail Nanjiani (“The Big Sick”). Together, they hunt for Sara’s murderer, the drug dealer, Teijo (Iko Uwais). This overly obvious physical mismatch of the scrawny Nanjiani and muscular Bautista recalls “Central Intelligence” with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Kevin Hart, except “Stuber” is missing their heart, humor and outsized charisma.

Watching “Stuber,” I kept thinking Johnson must have passed on playing Vic, the squinty tough guy with a heart of gold. Good casting can always smooth a film’s rough edges. And while pairing the slight, sarcastic Nanjiani with the beefy, brusque Bautista might have looked good on paper, on screen it fizzles.

It doesn’t help that they’re surrounded by a host of stock characters predictably going through the motions. That includes the unattainable Becca (wasted Betty Gilpin from “Glow”), the woman Stu pines for; and Vic’s neglected daughter (Natalie Morales), who always comes second to the job. Eventually, the movie feels like a road-trip flick where Vic and Stu must learn life lessons: one has to man-up, the other has to cry. How novel.

Director Michael Dowse, who helmed the not-half-bad “Goon” (based on the life of Hanson cop and hockey player Doug Smith), captures the rote action with a shaky, nausea-inducing camera. Bullets fly. Punches land. Car chases ensue. I’m not a prude, but the amount of violence doesn’t jive with the otherwise light tone of the film. It’s jarring.

The movie picks up six months after the opening shootout. Vic’s boss (Mira Sorvino) tells him to go on a vacation. So he takes a few days off to get - what else? - laser-eye surgery. Conveniently, Vic gets a tip that Teijo is back in town, but because of blurred vision, he hires an Uber to cart him around town. Vic’s sight-impairment is supposed to induce tons of laughter. It doesn’t.

Each detour the script takes them on - a veterinary hospital, a warehouse, an art gallery - draws the men closer in their budding bromance. Their clash of personalities and the situations they find themselves in aren’t without a few mild laughs.

But predictable plot points - a mole in the police department, the bumpy father-daughter relationship, the inevitable falling-out between Stu and Vic - cancel out any potential enjoyment. Instead, “Stuber” is a bumpy fare, one where you’ll be hard pressed to rate this 105-minute ride any higher than two (miscast) stars.


(R for violence and language throughout, some sexual references and brief graphic nudity.)
Grade: C