“Ruthless crime-lord” and “Terrence Howard” paired together may not immediately seem like a fit, but, yes, Mr Howard stars in the action-thriller Dead Man Down, opposite Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace in its starring cast.

Howard’s character is named Alphonse Hoyt, and is described as a charming but brutal crime-lord who is accustomed to being feared but is thrown off guard when a mysterious tormenter (Farrell) starts sabotaging his business from within and picks off his men one by one as revenge for the death of his family.

Niels Arden Oplev (who helmed the original Swedish Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) directed the film, which opens this Friday in the USA.

A new red-band trailer for the film has been released and it’s embedded below: