A live-wire, neck-snapping directing bow from the writer of "Training Day," David Ayer's "Harsh Times" is a drug-and-drink-fueled, guns-to-the-head trip into the wacked-out world of an ex-Army Ranger trying — ha! — to assimilate into civilian life.

Set in the barrios and bars of South Central Los Angeles, the film stars Christian Bale as Jim Davis, a vet still spooked by his experience in Afghanistan and looking for a job as a cop. When he fails his psych test with the LAPD, Jim and his buddy, Mike (Freddy Rodriguez), tool around town, getting into trouble, more trouble and more.

Like Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke in "Training Day," Bale and Rodriguez do a lot of their tough-guy chatter from the front seat of a car. Likewise, the violence in "Harsh Times" comes fast and furious.

Bale brings intense energy (and a convincing American accent) to the proceedings, and the film manages to make this borderline Travis Bickle into a sympathetic character — with a sweetheart and a sweeter life, — beckoning from south of the border. Strong stuff.

<b>TITLE: </b>"Harsh Times"<b>CAST: </b>Christian Bale, Freddy Rodriguez and Eva Longoria<b>DIRECTOR: </b>David Ayer<b>RATED: </b>R (violence, profanity, sex, adult themes)<b>GRADE: </b>3 Stars (out of 5)