LATE REVIEW!: 2 Guns review

2 GUNS:

GOOFY, CLICHÉ, AND FILLED TO THE BONE WITH ACTION!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Denzel Washington (left) and Mark Wahlberg (right) locked and loaded in 2 Guns

            You gotta love goofy buddy action movies, like the successful Lethal Weapon franchise, Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, and the 2010 action comedy, The Other Guys. With their cheesy dialogue, over the top action, and silly one-liners, there’s a charm to them that cannot be outmatched, and the new movie, 2 Guns is certainly no exception, it’s clichéd action movie material at its finest, that’s filled with intense shootouts, silly puns and one-liners, and a likable gun-slinging duo.

            Denzel Washington (Flight, Unstoppable, The Taking of Pelham 123) and Mark Wahlberg (Ted, The Fighter, The Other Guys) play DEA agent, Bobby Trench and naval intelligence officer, Marcus Stigman “Stig”, two crooked undercover officers, working together on one mission, infiltrate a drug cartel and acquire their money. During their Joyride, they encounter CIA agents (led by Bill Paxton-Aliens, Tombstone, Twister) who want them dead (and their money), insane kidnappers, a ruthless drug lord (played by Edward James Olmos-Battlestar Galactica, Blade Runner, Stand and Deliver), and torture-happy drug dealers.

            Bobby and Stig must put their heads together and make everything right before all those crazy CIA agents and drug dealers take away their loved ones and destroy their lives, through marathons of over the top car chases, gunfire, and typical action movie elements.

            Overall, 2 Guns is an enjoyable action flick, especially for fans of movies like the Lethal Weapon or Die Hard franchises. With its over the top action, goofy dialogue and puns, bloody gun shootouts, and very good performances by Washington and Wahlberg.

            The film is heavy on action and has a decent amount of comedy in there, but what it’s lacking is originality. We’ve seen movies like this before, examples include Oliver Stone’s Savages from last year, Ruben Fleischer’s Gangster Squad, and some episodes of Reno 911, but while it lacks in originality, the rest of the movie makes up for it.

            As entertaining this movie may be, it is not an intelligently crafted film, if you’re looking for a movie with a very well executed plot and character development, I’d say do Elysium, but if stupid action movie dialogue and clichés don’t bother you much, it should keep you entertained and hopefully you’ll have a great time at the movies. There’s plenty of violence, dumb comedy, and insane car chases and explosions to satisfy fans of classic action.