Jack Nicholson and actor-turned-director Sean Penn — who worked on the rather uneven character piece "The Crossing Guard" together — join forces for the similarly uneven follow-up, "The Pledge."

If anything, this dramatic thriller is perhaps an even bigger disappointment for both men, considering the cast involved (which includes such fine veteran character actors as Sam Shepard, Vanessa Redgrave and Harry Dean Stanton in tiny roles) and the initial promise it displays.

However, the whole thing comes undone in the second half, with a series of sketchy character developments and plotting that gets more ludicrous by the minute.

In fact, if the film didn't have a terrific Nicholson performance holding it together, "The Pledge" would crumble even quicker than it does.

He stars as Jerry Black, a retiring Nevada police detective with a plan to spend the rest of his life fishing.

But he doesn't even get a chance to get his foot out the door before he's drawn back into the world of crime investigation. During his retirement party, Jerry opts out and instead heads to the scene of a grisly rape and murder (of an 8-year-old girl).

And though his fellow officers quickly close the case, after their prime suspect (Benicio Del Toro) kills himself in their custody, Jerry is still convinced that they may have arrested the wrong man — and he has made a promise to the murdered girl's mother (Patricia Clarkson) that he'll find the real culprit.

So he "retires," positioning himself in a small town that lies between the locations of several similar — and possibly related — crimes. But he instead discovers happiness with an abused waitress (a seriously "de-glammed" Robin Wright Penn) and her 8-year-old daughter (Pauline Roberts).

Predictably, the "real" killer then targets the girl, setting off a chain of increasingly unlikely events that strain credibility, as well as the audience's patience.

But the script is only half the problem, as Penn lacks the filmmaking skills to sustain tension throughout the few scenes that might inspire it.

And aside from Nicholson, the rest of the cast is largely wasted in underwritten roles that seem designed to roll in one high-profile cameo after another.

"The Pledge" is rated R for occasional strong profanity, violence (gunfire and a graphic suicide), glimpses of gory crime scenes and nude artwork, and use of vulgar gestures. Running time: 124 minutes.

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E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com