Although it has a solid cast, some amusing bits, and lots of imaginative violence, “Play Dirty,” a comedy-thriller-action movie about the theft of already-stolen treasures in a plot to topple a dictator, is easily the most forgettable of Shane Black‘s films, as both, writer and writer-director. This is not good news considering that Black’s filmography includes the original “Lethal Weapon,” “The Long Kiss Goodnight,” “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” “The Nice Guys,” and other classics of smart-goofy, quip-heavy, proudly R-rated action cinema. That’s not the world’s worst news, since Black’s work is more consistently fun-focused than that of almost any major American filmmaker besides Steven Soderbergh; the worst thing Black could make would still be a decent way to spend two hours. Nevertheless, it’s difficult to sit through “Play Dirty” without thinking about its failures.

Number one is the movie’s star, Mark Wahlberg, who plays Parker. He’s been a leading man for about thirty years, but what does he bring to a project, really? His name still doesn’t promise anything except “this is a movie, and Mark Wahlberg happens to be in it.” He’s not particularly funny, nor is he of much use in love stories (unless he’s cast opposite an actress who has enough passion for two people, like Amy Adams in “The Fighter”). And although he handles himself well in action sequences and is pretty good with a threat, his range is so narrow that he makes Clint Eastwood seem like Daniel Day-Lewis in comparison. He’s not believable or especially interesting unless he’s cast as a working-class guy with a good heart but not much common sense (“Boogie Nights,” “The Fighter,” “The Yards”) or a slimeball (“The Departed,” the role that won him an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor).

As Parker, he’s always the least compelling actor in any given scene — a remarkable achievement when the only other performers are extras. Enigmatic, fearsome characters don’t work onscreen unless the actor playing the character has magnetism, even when they’re sitting still and not saying a word. Again, not Wahlberg. There are shots of him in this movie where we’re supposed to see the wheels turning in Parker’s reptilian brain, but all you get is a look that’s stranded somewhere between peevishness and distraction.

The plot is silly, piling deception upon deception, and offering up spectacular moments of bloodshed and pyrotechnic mayhem that would lead the news, but they are treated with more of a shrug here. But that’s okay — lots of movies do that. The problem here is that nothing seems to matter to the plot or any individual character. The film kicks off with Parker leading a robbery that seems constantly on the verge of going off the rails, then finally does. Since there are lots of surprises in it, suffice to say the ultimate injury against Parker is a betrayal, which is what drives the plots of most Parker books. He’s constantly being double-crossed and left for dead, only to recover and kill the people who mistakenly thought they’d killed him. That happens again here, courtesy of a fellow criminal named Zen (Rosa Salazar), a black ops-type turned robber whose viciousness is actually in service of a complex plan to topple the dictator who’s been ruling her home country for years.

This movie is described as being “adapted from” the Parker books by Black and co-writers Charles Mondry and Anthony Bagarozzi, but it’s more accurate to say they inspire it. It feels like a work of high-profile fan fiction, not unlike the TV series “Hannibal” or the Jack Reacher series. Elements and characters from the texts are liberally sprinkled throughout, and there are some meta-textual in-jokes.

This would typically be the place in an action movie review where the writer would compliment the leading man for holding everything together, despite the challenges surrounding him. Unfortunately, Wahlberg does not so much lead the film as merely exist within its fictional space, outshone at every turn by the actors around him, including walk-on players with a couple of lines. In the end, it’s the audience that gets robbed.