2 Guns (2013)
Certified: 15
Duration: 109 minutes
Directed by: Baltasar Kormákur
Starring: Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Paula Patton, Bill Paxton, Fred Ward, James Marsden, Edward James Olmos, Robert John Burke, Doris Morgado, Allie DeBerry
KRS release

Steven Grant, the comic book writer behind the classic limited series Badlands (2006) for Dark Horse Comics, responsible for resuscitating the Punisher for Marvel and also for his stints on The Avengers and Hulk series for Marvel, has his limited series 2 Guns for Boom! Comics brought to the screen.

Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur makes 2 Guns his second collaboration with Mark Wahlberg after Contraband (2012) with a film that is slick, polished and propelled forward by a charismatic and very watchable on-screen partnership.

From the film’s title, it is obvious that it will feature shoot-outs and gunplay and the audience will not be disappointed as it gets all this and more.

Denzel Washington and Wahlberg play Robert Trench, aka Bobby, and Marcus Stigman, aka Stig respectively. They are two criminals who are facing off Papi Greco (Edward James Olmos), a Mexican drug lord. The two, however, have secrets they keep from each other: Bobby is actually a DEA undercover agent while Stig is an undercover Navy Intelligence officer, and both are aiming at bringing down Greco.

In an attempt to get the goods, they end up in a bank robbery but they find out that they have been set up. Involved in this is Stig’s superior in the navy, Quince (James Marsden), Bobby’s boss Jessup (Robert John Burke) and also the latter on-and-off lover Deb (Paula Patton). Earl (Bill Paxton), a CIA officer with no qualms about the damage he raises enters the fray: he just wants one thing – the money!

This is the kind of film Mel Gibson used to make back in the Lethal Weapon days, that is, before he got all serious and full of angst in real life. It’s a buddy action movie of the highest calibre that feeds off the Bourne Identity style.

The film has well-developed characters and all their motives and background are well-exposed. There are also plenty of twists and not everything is as clear as should be, giving the film an added dimension to it. The dialogue is super cool and is a huge bonus as the double and triple crossing starts to pile up.

Meanwhile, the action sequences are tight, flashy and very catchy. It’s almost as if this were a Western movie but with modern sensibilities.

It’s a buddy action movie of the highest calibre that feeds off the Bourne Identity style

The two leads, Washington and Wahlberg, deliver very good performances, with Wahlberg even managing to have even better screen presence than Washington. This is no mean feat and continues to show how the actor has come far since his rapping days. He brings a carefree attitude to the film which contrasts well with Washington’s sense of gravitas. The actors end up being an almost modern version of Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis in the 1958 film The Defiant Ones.

The film also has interesting turns from Paxton, who is literally mean and lean; Patton is sexy and eye-catching, while Marsden is tangibly duplicitous. Meanwhile, Olmos overplays his hand deliciously as a drug lord.

Directed with a tongue-in-cheek attitude, 2 Guns will surely entertain its audience while shooting an indefinite quantity of bullets!