n Empire, released on DVD and video on Monday, October, 20 Certificate 15.

WHEN directors like Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola look at the world of gangsters, they create fascinating characters trapped in an intriguing world of skewed morality.

But in Empire, the debut feature by director Franc Reyes, gangland is populated by dim-witted thugs who run around blowing each other's brains out.

This might well be a more accurate depiction of gangs in the South Bronx - after all Reyes and half the cast fall over themselves to point out this is their home - but it doesn't make for a better film.

Empire is an attempt to blend the likes of Goodfellas with Wall Street.

It follows drug dealer Victor Rosa (John Leguizamo), who wants to make a new life for himself and his girlfriend Carmen (Delilah Cotto) when he meets a Wall Street investment banker (Peter Sarsgaard). But the difference between the two worlds isn't as great as Victor presumes.

There is an eclectic mix in the cast, from Isabella Rossellini (Blue Velvet) to Denise Richards (Wild Things) and rap stars Fat Joe and Treach.

Reyes has aspirations of Scorsese-dom, with Victor's voice over being reminiscent of Henry Hill in Goodfellas.

Empire is slick and nicely crafted but when you make a film about gangsters in New York the bar is set pretty high and Reyes will have to do more to stand out in the crowd.

On the face of it, the DVD has some decent extras, with deleted scenes, a commentary and documentary. But the documentary is a chance for all these rap stars and actors to gush about how wonderful their co-stars are and provides little insight. Similarly, the deleted scenes seem fairly superfluous.

David Lewins