The Lowdown: 2 Guns is a buddy-cop action movie that stars two of Hollywood’s biggest names, has too much plot, too many villains, and too little innovation. Fortunately, this is the kind of movie that we don’t see often anymore, and the nostalgia that 2 Guns brings back is part of the fun. It would be nice to see something like Lethal Weapon or Rush Hour again, but it’s hard to do these kinds of movies anymore. As it stands, 2 Guns is neither too much nor too little. It is the definition of “fun, throwaway entertainment”.
1. The Plot: The plot of 2 Guns is one of the weakest elements of 2 Guns because it is awfully convoluted for a buddy cop movie. Basically, Bobby (Denzel Washington) and Stig (Mark Wahlberg) are two criminals who rob a bank that they think holds $3 million belonging to Mexican drug kingpin, Papi Greco (Edward James Olmos). So it comes as a surprise when they find $43 million in the bank, but they make off with it anyways. Then Bobby and Stig each find out that the other is an undercover agent – Bobby is a DEA agent, and Stig is with the Navy. To make matters worse, the money disappears and suddenly the CIA, the Navy, and Papi Greco all want a piece of it. Naturally, it’s up to Bobby and Stig to sort things out.
If they don't kill each other first.
2. The Characters: Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg are able to carry the entire film with their on-screen chemistry and solid acting. Washington is smooth and charismatic as he usually is, and Wahlberg is cocky and hard-headed as he usually is. You know, because the buddy cops always have to have contrasting character traits. Washington and Wahlberg may not be treading new ground, but they look like they had fun doing what they did and that’s what matters. Paula Patton is Debbie, Bobby’s DEA contact and sort-of girlfriend. Sadly, she is hardly in the film, and when she is, she looks bored out of her mind. A definite step down from when she was in Déjà Vu with Denzel a few years ago.
One would think it would be hard to be bored when coming face-to-face with Denzel Washington.
Sadly, just about every other character in the film is either incredibly one-note or laughably vile and corrupt, or both, which makes for some truly epic overacting. Bill Paxton is Earl, a slimy, sadistic CIA operative whose idea of interrogation is to play Russian Roulette. His performance is so hammy that he is impossible to take seriously, even when he is committing acts of cruel violence.
His hilarious hat doesn't help.
Also incredibly hammy is James Marsden, who plays a corrupt Navy official who screws over Stig. Overacting really isn’t something Marsden should be doing since he isn’t very good at it, but like Paxton, the effect is more comical than anything. Less comical is Edward James Olmos, who plays Papi Greco with a certain gravitas. Having two overacting villains is enough for a film, so it’s nice that Olmos’ calmer demeanor helps balance things out.3. The Action: 2 Guns is an action movie, so therefore, there must be action. The action is exciting if traditional. There are shootouts, car chases, fistfights, and even a few explosions because explosions. The filmmakers even throw stampeding hordes of bulls into the mix. While there's action peppered all throughout the film, most of it is brief and leaves you wanting more. The ending, in particular, is especially anticlimactic and disappointing. The whole film builds to this massive standoff between all of our characters, and you expect some kind of prolonged explosive action sequence. Alas, the finale is less than 5 minutes long and feels rushed.
Dolla dolla bills do fly through the air though.
Also, I like it when the bad guys really get what’s coming to them for being total douchebags for the entire film. Remember in Bad Boys II where the villain falls on a landmine and explodes? Yeah, 2 Guns isn't nearly as creative or satisfying.4. Buddy Cop Movies: The buddy cop movie is rare these days, but it’s not the 80s anymore. It’s not like they’ve vanished completely though. Last year, we got the hilarious and kickass 21 Jump Street, and this year, we got The Heat and R.I.P.D. People watch these movies because they want to see the two, or sometimes three, main actors spar with each other using clashing personalities and witty banter. Lethal Weapon, Beverly Hills Cop, Tango & Cash, Bad Boys, Rush Hour, Hot Fuzz, The Other Guys, 21 Jump Street, etc. None of these films really tread new ground, but they're not really supposed to; they're just fun and exciting action-comedies.
Ah, the good old days.
The basic layout of a buddy cop movie is this: Cops who are the polar opposite of each other are forced to team up for whatever reason in order to fight the bad guys. Hilarity ensues. That’s basically the plot synopsis for all the movies I listed before, which is fine. The only real difference is what evil plot the villain has. 2 Guns clearly wanted to be different. Perhaps too different. The screenwriters asked the question: “What if the buddy cops didn’t know that each other was a cop?” It’s a fascinating concept that is actually executed well, but the average moviegoer may get lost in the tangled web of double and triple crosses. The fact that the movie has at least three villains doesn’t really make things clearer, either. Points to the screenwriters for changing up the buddy cop formula, but really, it could have been less complicated and still would have worked.The Bottom Line: 2 Guns is nothing new and nothing special, but buddy cop movies are always welcome. More action and less plot would have made 2 Guns a better feature, but it makes up for that by casting Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg and for featuring incredible amounts of overacting. The end result? Middle-of-the-road buddy cop goodness. I’d say 2 Guns is worth a watch.
2 Gunsis property of Boom Entertainment, Emmett/Furla Films, and Envision Entertainment Corporation. This review was written by me.
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