“Black Lotus” (** out of four) was a thoroughly derivative action thriller about (yawn) an ex-Special Forces agent (Rico Verhoeven) who has to come out of retirement to rescue his friend’s daughter in Amsterdam when she is kidnapped and held hostage by the local crime syndicate (led by Frank Grillo). Allegedly inspired by 2004’s “Man On Fire” and features homages to the cult classic “Amsterdammed” but it’s all by-the-numbers and basic. Verhoeven (who also produced) shows some charisma in his first starring role; Grillo sneers through his umpteenth role as an underworld sleaze. He himself played the lead in the similarly plotted “Little Dixie” recently.