2 Guns (Full Review) Director: Baltasar Kormakur Cast: Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Paula Patton, Bill Paxton, James Marsden and Edward James Olmos. *** out of ***** Predictable and gratuitous, but often riotously funny, "2 Guns" is anchored by the strong chemistry of its two leads, Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg. It’s essentially a buddy cop genre film much in the vein of the "Lethal Weapon" series, pairing together a mismatched couple and upping the stakes in mind-numbing violence and mayhem. Bobby Trench (Washington), a DEA Agent and Michael Stigman (Wahlberg), a Naval Intelligence Officer, are both undercover but unbeknownst to each other, to steal $3 million from drug kingpin Papi Greco (Edward James Olmos). These things never go as planned from the get-go as Trench and Stigman go on the run to find out who set them up. Also entering the picture are Paula Patton as Washington’s sultry lover and Bill Paxton as a shady government agent. Let the bullets fly and the comedy sparks ignite! Like I said before, the film’s strong suit is the camaraderie (or lack thereof) of its two mega-stars, Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg. Without them, the movie would crumble. Neither role is multi-layered, nor do we get a solid understanding of these men’s background, but the abundance of laughs they rouse up from the audience makes up for it. Washington never misses a beat as the calm and collective Trench and Wahlberg mixes smooth-talking charm and wise-ass remarks as Stigman. Most of the laughs derive from their profanity-ridden exchanges of dialogue despite the crudeness of it all. Wahlberg brings the funny every moment he is on screen with momentous laughter. He is the greatest delight of this film. Other characters don’t work as well. Paula Patton, who plays Deb Rees, a love interest for Washington’s Trench, is wasted. She is more than just a love interest, but her motives are never fully realized leading me to believe that some of her scenes were left on the cutting room floor. That leaves her as a damsel-in-distress. That’s it. Director Baltasar Kormakur’s previous feature, 2012’s "Contraband", featured Kate Beckinsale in a similar role. That’s two films in a row which feature underdeveloped female characters. Bill Paxton plays a particularly nasty villain, but once the other bad guys are revealed, their smarmy personalities are all too similar. You should have an idea from the start which side each character is on. The action is just above average. Instead of bombastic sequences of chaos, the first half introduces us to a slew of tense one-on-one interactions. However, the second half kicks into high gear with plenty of gunfire and bloodshed to appease fans of the genre. The final act brings together all of the main players and from the moment they show up it’s clear what’ll happen. It’s shot in a slightly comedic manner as to keep with the tone of the first half. When it’s all over, it’s nothing to write home about but it certainly beats "RED 2" and "Fast and Furious 6". At least it doesn’t take itself as seriously as those two. It has more comic appeal than that. *First side note: All future reviews will be graded out of five (5) stars, instead of four (4). *Second side note: I have seen but not submitted reviews for "The Way, Way Back" and "Fruitvale Station". Both films should be seen. I believe "The Way, Way Back" is a fine summer film with a great dose of humor and "Fruitvale Station" is based on a true story and it will melt your heart.
Posted on: Sun, 11 Aug 2013 03:39:41 +0000
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