I was a little torn about this movie for one reason and that reason is Denzel Washington. I don’t say that because I don’t like him. In fact he’s one of my favorite actors. I was a little saddened to see him go back to these “paycheck films”, that being a movie that is made just for the paycheck. Now that’s not to say I didn’t like the movie, but when I saw Washington’s performance in Flight I thought it was his return to top form. He was finally putting in performances that were award worthy, but his very next film is a mostly generic action flick. If he plans on doing both I suppose that would be just fine, but a movie like 2 Guns will be forgotten pretty quickly. It was enjoyable but unimportant; Flight was a lot more.
Having said all that I was still intrigued enough to want to see this and it ended up being decent enough that I don’t feel it was a failure. If it wasn’t for Washington and Wahlberg’s chemistry this movie wouldn’t have worked at all. It is their performances that raise this to a level slightly above pointless and dumb. The supporting cast did well but nothing really stands out.
In a small town two strangers have just shown up at the local diner for some breakfast. After only a short stay these two burn down the diner and rob the local bank getting away with more than $43 million, not bad for one score right? They went in the bank expecting roughly $3 million so when they come away with 40 more than that they start thinking it may be too good to be true. Even though the two thieves known as Bobby Trench (Denzel Washington) and Stig Stigman (Mark Wahlberg) have double crossed each other for reasons neither one saw coming, they band together to find out who double crossed the both of them and then tried to kill them. All they know is that the $43 million has everything to do with it, and oddly enough they can only trust one another. Two guys who just robbed a bank and then turned against one another must now trust each other to survive… that should work out, right?
Washington does well in his performance as Bobby but it feels like he phoned this one in, which I think says either a lot about the weak script or shows how good Denzel really is at acting. Wahlberg, however, really seems to go all out with this one being the major comedic side of this doomed duo, not to mention he’s pretty capable with a gun. Where this really falters is in the attempted balance between serious, borderline gratuitous violence and comedy. One minute everyone is laughing and then someone is getting shot in the head. This is a formula perfected by such directors as Quentin Tarantino and The Coen Brothers but is something not easily achieved; these directors just make it look easy. This particular film couldn’t pull it off nearly as well and it suffers because of it. Pair that up with a rehashed premise and a weak script and you have a decent enough but very lackluster film.
The action was good and the actors were believable but it just didn’t work as well as I wanted it to. It’s a good option to choose from this weekend but don’t get your hopes up too high. It’s a bit mindless and doesn’t really have a conclusive ending, but ultimately I was entertained and for this type of film that’s good enough for me I suppose. If I had to pick something that stood out at all it would have to be Wahlberg’s performance; he is very funny and believable as the tough guy and he pulls off both well. I can’t really say much more as I’m feeling a bit redundant now so I’ll just end it with this; see 2 Guns and have a good time but don’t expect to walk away with much. It’s a good movie to hold us over until Elysium comes out. Now that one looks epic. See 2 Guns for the chemistry between Washington and Wahlberg and comedic prowess of Mr. Wahlberg, see it for the action scenes but don’t be surprised when it doesn’t all mesh together perfectly.
Rated R For: violence throughout, language and brief nudity (nice nudity, ha!)
Run Time: 109 minutes
After Credits Scene: None
Starring: Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Bill Paxton, Paula Patton, James Marsden
Directed By: Baltasar Kormákur
Out of 5 Nerdskulls
Story: 2/ Acting: 3.5/ Directing: 3/ Visuals: 2.5
OVERALL: 3 Nerdskulls
Check out the trailer!
