DIRECTOR: Baltaser Kormakur
CAST: Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Paula Patton, Bill Paxton, Fred Ward, James Marsden, Edward James Olmos, Robert John Burke, Doris Morgado, Allie DeBerry
RUNNING TIME: 109 mins
CERTIFICATE: 15
BASICALLY… Two men (Washington and Wahlberg) rob a bank, but not only do they discover they were stealing money from the CIA, but they were both undercover DEA agents and Naval Intelligence Officers respectively with either of them knowing…
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NOW FOR THE REVIEW…
When you put Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg together, no-one knows exactly what the payoff is going to be. Both are actors on polar opposites, but their charm and charisma in their on-screen performances is unquestionable. You’ll be pleased to hear, then, that the resulting movie 2 Guns fully knows how to entertain audiences and have fun with itself, and a lot of that comes from the lead actors’ chemistry.
From their opening bickering in a café where Wahlberg tries to order Washington some food without him moaning about the choice, you can instantly spot their comedic abilities to play off one another and own it, both acting cockier about it than the other. With Wahlberg, it was already known about his hidden talent for straight-faced comedy thanks to Ted and The Other Guys, but Washington is more exemplary in a rare comedy performance that shows his natural range. Both have so much fun here, and all of it is wonderfully passed down to the audience.
The rest of the film, while just as entertaining as the leads, suffers from an over-reliance on formula and predictable plot points. The “criminals on the run” gimmick is as old as time itself, and watching the first few minutes you think that they would at least put a clever spin on it, but it soon becomes apparent that the filmmakers are sticking to the basics, playing safe in an environment where they are allowed to play a little rougher.
Speaking of rougher, the film is certainly more adult than some of the other similar films this summer. Allowing its characters to use rough language and appropriately violent methods – for example, a character tortures a bank manager with a device made of pins and paper that is just as gruesome as you may think – actually helps the film to be a better experience in comparison to others. The further it goes with its action, body count and car chases, the more enjoyable it can be to its target adult audience. After a summer which feels more reserved and safe, this is a refreshing breather.
On the antagonistic side, Bill Paxton makes the biggest impression as a psychotic, corrupt CIA agent who likes to torture some of his victims with a game of Russian Roulette… aimed at their privates. As with the unstoppable duo of Wahlberg and Washington, Paxton is having a tremendous amount of fun playing this sleazy agent who you actually want to see get his comeuppance (we eventually do, albeit a little less satisfying that we would like to imagine). James Marsden also shows up in a white Naval uniform, oddly looking like an older version of Nicholas Hoult as a result, but he is given a little less to work with than Paxton. That, and he doesn’t leave as big an impression, either.
Impressive action set pieces, including a climax sadly partially ruined by the film’s trailer, are handled well by Wahlberg’s Contraband director Baltaser Kormakur, and the screenplay by Blake Masters (his feature film debut, making it even more impressive) is spot-on with enough wit and timing to make even the most ludicrous moments feel like a hell of a lot of fun.
SO, TO SUM UP…
With the real major problem being its heavy reliance on formulaic plot twists and predictable outcomes, 2 Guns passes with its high levels of fun and pure entertainment, only fuelled further by the strong comedy chemistry between the charismatic Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington.
