2 Guns

2 GUNS

Director : Baltasar Kormákur

Year : 2013

Genre : Action/Thriller

Rating : ***1/2

 

Starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg, '2 Guns' is the directorial debut for Icelandic filmmaker Baltasar Kormákur, whose film 'The Deep' was shortlisted for an Academy Award in 2012. Combining the cinematographical styles of a classic western, the screwball antics of a buddy cop movie and the gritty, chilling Fincher - esque style thriller, '2 Guns' is a great looking film but is ultimately a very mixed bag; full of great acting and tense action scenes but not a lot of  substance to form a cohesive narrative. Much more a movie of moments rather a fully rounded piece, the film quite often loses it's sense of direction and as a result, it can be frustrating to watch; mostly due to the convoluted character developments and somewhat unbelievable story arcs. However, Washington and Wahlberg work very well and their chemistry provides a good balance with the somewhat darker undertones of the film and the graphic violence depicted on screen. While in the end it really doesn't add up to much, '2 Guns' is still a very entertaining watch that contains some great and memorable characters and features some show stopping and bravura action scenes.

The film begins with the robbery of $3 million dollars from the vault of an out of town bank, carried out by best friends Bobby Trench and Michael Stigman (Washington and Wahlberg respectively). They promptly take the mountain of cash over the border to give to drug baron Papi Greco (Edward James Olmos), but are soon arrested by United States customs and taken into custody. However, unbeknownst to Michael, Bobby is actually an undercover D.E.A agent who has been sent to get evidence to convict Greco for drug dealing and unbeknownst to Bobby, Michael is an undercover naval intelligence officer who has been instructed to kill Trench so that he can steal the money and fund naval covert operations. After finding out the truth about each other, both men decide to go their separate ways and soon find themselves targets of not just Papi Greco who has discovered their secret but also the wrath of their once best friend who is seeking revenge for their betrayal.

Based on the somewhat obscure graphic novels by Boom! comics, '2 Guns' plays it hand very wide and traverses a wide range of styles and tones. While on the surface it may look like a traditional cop thriller, Kormákur actually takes some unexpected turns and throws in elements of both comedy and film noir. For the most part, the movie concentrates on the relationship between Bobby and Michael, which is a combination of brotherly love and violent rage. Many of the scenes of them fighting together reminded me of two toddlers fighting over a brick of Lego or a couple of teenagers fighting over an XBOX remote. It is very funny to see such respected and powerful actors act much younger than they are and this element gives the movie a much needed shot in the arm. Both Wahlberg and Washington play their parts well and each one is given enough screen time  to expand their characters and explore their ultimate goals and motivations. However, where '2 Guns' takes a misstep is each respective characters story arcs which are extremely muddled and end up slowing the film to an almost snail's pace. Full of quite unbelievable plot twists and radical, sudden changes of heart, Kormákur really pushes the boat out when it comes to suspension of disbelief and almost, but not quite blows his own movie out of the water. Nearly every single character in the film is not really who they say they are each one has a different intention to the one that was given in their exposition; even the unnecessary love interests have a secret to hide. I am always interested in seeing balanced and layered characters but when they are given a dozen or so ulterior motives and display a general lack of interest for the feelings of those supposedly close, it is hard to gravitate towards them and more importantly even care about them. This is a shame because each part is acted very well and Kormákur does a great job with his direction which is full of exciting camera moves and a kinetic style that adds to both the tension and atmosphere created by the barren and vacuous settings.

What begins as a strong and funny crime caper finally ends up becoming something of a let down and upon leaving the cinema, I realised that despite it's stellar cast and fantastic cinematography, '2 Guns' really isn't anything special. While it features great central performances from Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington as well as showcasing an astonishingly menacing turn from an almost unrecognisable Bill Paxton as a corrupt CIA officer, the film quickly loses focus and gives up on itself. Kormákur should be congratulated for his directorial style and is clearly a name to look out for in the future, but in the end the movie adds up to yet another formulaic action thriller that ends up having more laughs than actual thrills. Despite this, '2 Guns' is still a good time in the cinema if you ignore the major plot holes and the very frustrating narrative arcs. Just don't go in expecting too much.