Genre-wise this movie oscillates between the buddy-cop thing, the buddy-robber thing, and the con-man, identity switcheroo game. There's a lot of characters to follow and many of them are hiding things about themselves, as well as the truth behind their objectives. The plot zigs and zags around these mounting twists with some amount skill the movie improves with a great cast who give great performances. But all of that can’t distract from the fact that the screenplay is over plotted, and over-loaded with characters.
Wahlberg and Washington play Michael Stigman and Robert Trench, two outlaws with plans to rob a small town bank for a local drug dealer (Edward James Olmos). What they don’t know is that each of them are actually undercover officers, working for different government associations—Trench with the local DEA and Stigman with an AWOL Naval squad. After a botched robbery their identities are revealed to each other, at which point several other interested parties come after them for the money, including a murderous CIA agent (Bill Paxton), Stigman’s officer in command (James Marsdan) and Trench’s own girlfriend (Paula Patton) who may or may not working for a noble purpose.
This movie shines when Walberg and Washington are on screen together. Their chemistry is natural and enjoyable and the dialogue between them, while at times a little over-stylized, is delivered well and is often chuckle worthy. That’s why it is all the more upsetting when the film works so hard to keep these two separated for most of the extended second act.
Amidst all the super-violence, this is a movie about friendship and trust. Trench keeps people at a cold distance and Stigman brings people in too close before he can discern their motives and of course by the end of the movie they both have to come to terms with these flaws through their interactions. It’s an easy formula but this screenplay makes good use of it and it never loses sight of the ultimate payoff, in seeing these two reconcile and work together, even if it takes too much time and plot getting there.
Much of “2 Guns” feels refreshingly throw-back to me. The characters, the story, the setting, and especially the way it is paced and filmed by director Baltasar Kormakur reminds me a lot of the type of action movies that were released in the latter half of the 90’s. I could very easily imagine seeing this film on VHS, at the grocery store video rental section, alongside somewhat forgotten programmers of that era like “Assassins” with Antonio Banderas and Sylvester Stallone, or “Bulletproof” with Adam Sandler and Damon Wayans. And like many of the pictures of that time, “2 Guns” is definitely boys club, with some less than progressive gender politics when it comes to how Paula Patton is treated as a character. However, I will admit that she gives her performance everything she can to disguise her misogynistic plot purpose with some real feminine power.
For an early August release, this isn’t a terrible 2 hours to spend in an air-conditioned theater. “2 Guns” isn’t a knowing genre exercise or a post-modern re-evaluation on the con-swap script-trick but it does what it wants to do pretty well without a hint of irony. I could have done with fewer twists, less MacGuffin hunting, and a more streamlined plot trajectory, but it’s a well-acted and confidently directed fluff piece that’s at least worth a trip to the Red Box in few months’ time.
Grade: C+
Originally published in the Idaho State Journal/Aug-2013
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