HAWKE'S MODERN HAMLET A SOMEWHAT GREAT DANE.

Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic

To like or not to like the new movie ``Hamlet''?

The filmmakers don't let you answer that question easily. There are a lot of clever ideas in this New York update of Shakespeare's classic tragedy, but just as many of them are simply strained attempts to play out the concept. The verse sounds good coming out of uniformly contemporary, American mouths, yet few of the performances crackle or connect. The thing is self-consciously cinematic to such a degree that no one's going to accuse it of being a filmed play; but then, Laurence Olivier's simpler, noirish 1948 production was every bit a movie, and without having to call attention to the fact every two minutes.

So, yes? No? Up? Down?

I just can't make up my mind.

This time around, Hamlet is a wild-haired, stubble-chinned, film-student slacker played by - who else? - Ethan Hawke. His uncle, Claudius (Kyle MacLachlan), and mother, Gertrude (Diane Venora), now run his dead father's Denmark Corporation, a big multinational something-or-other with vast media interests.

It's doubtful, however, that Denmark's media interests surpass those of adapter-director Michael Almereyda, who gets some kind of extra-textual video footage or electronic gadget into just about every scene.

This is pretty good stuff, for a while.

The Ghost (Sam Shepard, who quite chillingly emphasizes the demanding father aspect over the supernatural take) first materializes through a high-rise security camera. Hamlet, who spends days going over wild tape footage while nursing his indecision, splices together an accusatory short film in place of the famous play-within-the-play. Polonius (Bill Murray, of all people, giving the movie's best performance, a deft high-wire walk between the buffoonish and concerned parent interpretations of the role) wires Ophelia (Julia Stiles, pouty throughout) for the big betrayal scene.

Best of all, Hamlet recites the soliloquy while trudging up the ``Action'' aisle at a Blockbuster store. But whether or not this monotonous kid decides to take up arms remains academic, since Hawke's performance isn't exactly the soul of wit. He gives the role an apt youthful inertia, but it's the kind of right artistic strategy that really doesn't come off well in practice.

You'll probably wish this 21st-century Hamlet will make his moves sooner than most previous incarnations, if only to cut short the droning.

The facts

--The film: ``Hamlet'' (R; violence).

--The stars: Ethan Hawke, Kyle MacLachlan, Sam Shepard, Diane Venora, Bill Murray, Liev Schreiber, Julia Stiles.

--Behind the scenes: Written and directed by Michael Almereyda, based on William Shakespeare's play. Produced by Andrew Fierberg and Amy Hobby. Released by Miramax Films.

--Running time: One hour, 52 minutes.

--Playing: Sunset 5, West Hollywood; Westside Pavilion, West L.A.

--Our rating: Two and one half stars.

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Photo: Ethan Hawke, left, and Liev Schreiber star in Michael Almereyda's modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare's ``Hamlet.''