Review: 2 Guns (2013)

Cast: Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Paula Patton
Director: Baltasar Kormákur
Country: USA
Genre: Action | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller
Official Site: Here

Editor’s Notes: 2 Guns opens in wide release today. Check your local listings for showtimes.

Ah yes, 2 Guns, the much anticipated sequel to the 50 Cent penned, direct-to-DVD Gun. What’s that? It’s completely unrelated? Well that’s certainly going to upset the entire fan of Gun (sorry Val Kilmer). Then it must be a prequel to the direct-to-DVD western, 6 Guns. NO?! So then what’s 2 Guns? A film with buddy antics, shoot ‘em up violence and boobs? Oh, so another Jason Statham movie. Wait, it has Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Bill Paxton, Edward James Olmos and Paula Patton? You have got to be kidding me. Michael Bay at least directs, right? The Icelandic director of Contraband? I don’t…I don’t even know what to do with that information.

The story here is a mess. There are enough twists, reversals and surprises to give you whiplash. The film is trying to be smart, attempting to add a semblance of ingenuity to a concept that is far from unique.

I should give you a plot synopsis, briefly outlining the key points of the film without spoiling it. 2 Guns makes this quite a challenge. But, you know what, I like you, so I’ll give it a shot. The general idea isn’t complicated; two undercover agents, one from the DEA, Bobby (Denzel Washington), and the other from the Navy, Stig (Mark Wahlberg), rob a bank. Bobby thinks Stig is a criminal and Stig thinks Bobby is a criminal. They both believe that the bank is the receptacle of a Mexican drug lord’s funds. It turns out that things are a lot shadier. To go any deeper is to show the film’s cards, so I’m just going to stop right there.

The story here is a mess. There are enough twists, reversals and surprises to give you whiplash. The film is trying to be smart, attempting to add a semblance of ingenuity to a concept that is far from unique. The film doesn’t benefit from the choice to start with a flash-forward, in actuality it feels like a trifling confusion. Maybe I could have forgiven this one instance (and it is only one instance, for the rest of the film plays out in your typical narrative fashion), but both sides of the flash-forward utilize some of the worst freeze frames on the big screen in recent memory. I don’t even save blurry photos on my iPhone, so I sure don’t want to see it on the big screen (part of me even had the sickening hope that there was simply something wrong with the projection rather than a poor editorial choice). Luckily the film is front loaded with these bad choices, but the continual plot contrivances distract in their audacity.

As much as I may shake my head at the ridiculous premise and cry out “seriously?!” at each new reveal, the film doesn’t bore. The reason it all works boils down to the chemistry between Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg. The pairing is obscure and by all accounts should not work, but it totally does. They are both charming and when put together the charisma is palpable. The pairing works like a dirtier and more attractive Lethal Weapon, and in case you were unsure, that is definitely a good thing. Washington will always be revered but he gets upstaged by Wahlberg. He saves this film. His comedic timing is consistently spot-on and he distracts you with laughter when you just want to hate the film for all of its idiocy. I only wish that he could have been in more of it. Mark Wahlberg makes every scene he is in better and his absence is felt by a striking increase in tedium.

2 Guns is certainly fun and the one-two punch of Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg is enough to make it worth your time, but its poorly developed story takes three lefts when it should have just gone right.

The cast is shockingly star-studded, but since this isn’t Oscar season that means nearly everyone is wasted. Paula Patton, who rarely gets a chance to do anything of substance in films, is reduced to a pretty smile and breasts. She is the only female character and her addition isn’t doing much for women. She is a pawn, a cause of trouble and a sex object; it’s kind of sickening when you think about it. Bill Paxton adopts a Southern accent, potentially to offer some warmth to his vile ways. It’s campy, non-threatening and below him. James Marsden pops his head in, and despite previously recognizing his comedic skills, forgot that his pretty boy face is far from menacing. Edward James Olmos is there too, seemingly because they needed to get a Hispanic actor and Benicio del Toro was busy. All of these actors have been better and are wasting their time in these empty roles. And seriously, can we get Paula Patton some more roles that are worthy of her talents? Don’t even think about it, Tyler Perry.

At its very core, 2 Guns is decidedly broken. The story is needlessly complicated and most of its cast is utterly wasted. When Mark Wahlberg isn’t making you laugh and the script isn’t coloring in the background with boring exposition, at least the action is pure entertainment. The final set piece in particular is what blockbusters are made for, exciting, fun and legitimately exhilarating. Filled with explosions and gunfire (although most of the shots seem fired by the original cast of The A-Team), it is over-the-top in the best way possible. 2 Guns is certainly fun and the one-two punch of Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg is enough to make it worth your time, but its poorly developed story takes three lefts when it should have just gone right. The end result is an action-packed, charmingly led yet confusingly plotted film, populated by a misused supporting cast. It is absolutely enjoyable but just as forgettable.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

Derek Deskins

Sr. Staff Film Critic

Derek was the only engineer at Northeastern University taking a class on German film and turning a sociology research paper into an examination of Scorsese’s work. Still living in Boston, MA, he blatantly abuses his Netflix account, but can never seem to get his Instant Queue below 200. He continues to fight the stigma that being good at math means you are not any no good at writing. I good write, very much.

Latest posts by Derek Deskins (see all)

• Review: Charlie Countryman (2013) - November 14, 2013
• Review: Ender’s Game (2013) - November 1, 2013
• Review: The Fifth Estate (2013) - October 18, 2013