Jackson Booth-Millard
I missed this film on TV a couple of times, I remember it obviously for the two leading actors, I couldn't guess anything about the plot from the title, so I was hoping to be pleasantly surprised, directed by Baltasar Kormákur (Contraband, Everest). Basically criminals Robert "Bobby" Trench (Denzel Washington) and Michael "Stig" Stigman (Mark Wahlberg) are planning to $3 million stashed in the vault of the Tres Cruces bank. Unknown to Stig, Bobby is an undercover DEA agent trying to convict Manny "Papi" Greco (Edward James Olmos) in Mexico, he failed to acquire to use as evidence, so he plans to prosecute Pape with money laundering, he will remain undercover until after the robbery. While Bobby is having a rendezvous with fellow DEA agent and former lover Deb Rees (Paula Patton), he is unaware that Stig is also undercover, he is an Intelligence Specialist with the Navy SEALs, he has been instructed to kill Bobby so the Navy can use the stolen money to fund unauthorised covert operations. During the heist, Bobby and Stig are surprised to find $43.125 million in the vault, after the heist, Stig follows the orders of his commanding officer LCDR Harold Quince (James Marsden), to betray Bobby and escape with the money. But Stig is unwilling to kill Bobby, he shoots him in the shoulder, a flesh wound, then he sees Bobby's DEA badge, not sure what to think, he leaves Bobby in the desert and takes the money. Stig meets with Quince, who tries to kill him when he learns what happened, Stig escapes after learning the money will be transferred to a Navy base in Corpus Christi. Meanwhile a man named Earl (Bill Paxton), head of a shadowy organisation, aggressively interrogates the Tres Cruces bank manager about the stolen money, he tracks Bobby's movements. Bobby goes to Stig's apartment to find where he took the money, Sniper however is outside, watching with a sniper's rifle, Quince has sent a hit squad to attack the apartment, but Bobby and Stig escape. Bobby visits his superior DEA Special Agent Jessup (Robert John Burke) to tell him what happened, but Earl and his men are waiting for him, Earl kills Jessup, frames Bobby for the murder, he makes a deal with Bobby if the $43 million is returned, he will be cleared. Bobby and Stig kidnap Papi to interrogate him in the garage at Deb's house, they find out Earl is a black ops operative to whom Papi reports, and that the stolen money belongs to the CIA. The garage is attacked by another hit squad, led by Quince, the trio end up being captured by Papi and taken to his farm in Mexico, after beating them and receiving a visit from Earl, the pair are given 24 hours to steal the money from the Navy and return it, or Deb will die. At the base, infiltrating Quince's office, Bobby discovers Quince is Deb's boyfriend, they had planned to steal the money for themselves, meanwhile Stig asks Admiral Tuwey (Fred Ward), but Tuway does not the scandal to tarnish the Navy's reputation, Quince evades arrest, as does Stig. Bobby is unable to find the money and thinks it is too late to save Deb, but then he realises the money is stashed in a motel room he and Deb frequented, he goes to help Stig, who is returning to Papi's farm alone to exact revenge. At the farm, Stig is surrounded by Papi's men until both Quince and Earl intervene, Bobby arrives in a car filled with the money, and then blows up the car, scattering the money everywhere, which leads to a massive shootout. During a standoff among Quince, Earl, Bobby and Stig, Earl reveals the CIA have 20 other secret banks, the loss of $43.125 million is only a minor setback, Stig shoots Earl, and Bobby shoots Quince, finally the duo shoot Papi outside. In the end, Bobby and Stig escape, allowing the locals to pick up the million of dollars for themselves, Bobby shoots Stig in the leg as payback for shooting him in the shoulder, they plan to take down the CIA's secret banks and sabotage their black operations, but Bobby reveals to Stig he did not blow up all the money, he has stashed some away. Also starring Patrick Fischler as Dr. Ken, Evie Thompson as Patsy, Dr. Ken's Assistant and Greg Sproles as Chief Lucas. Washington and Wahlberg are perfectly cast as the wisecracking leads, bouncing razor- sharp banter back and forth, and Olmos as the drug kingpin and Paxton being sinister are terrific bad guys, it is a botched up bank job turning into a game of cat-and-mouse with the mob, with well-paced chase sequences, explosions and all guns blazing action, but leaving enough room for a clever plot and twists, a great fun crime drama. Very good!
NateWatchesCoolMovies
2 Guns is breezy, slight, casually R rated popcorn fun, with a script that tries so hard to churn out quirky hysterics that it often stumbles on itself, rambles and at times is plain weird, but it's all good because when it's fun, it's great fun. Denzel and Marky Mark are trying on the buddy banter for size here, and they're both pretty serviceable at it, plus have decent chemistry, they're just a bit too relaxed at times it seems. Like, what person would *still* be making wisecracks when they are literally inches away from certain death at the horns of a stampeding bull? It's no matter though, for such things are the hallmark of action comedies, and the fluff does get balanced out by the R rating, which is nice to see and not to be taken for granted these days. The plot is all over the place and mainly acts as a playground of sorts for them to prance around in and get on each other's nerves, as well as that of multiple varied and colourful antagonists. The both of them are undercover law enforcement, Denzel a DEA hotshot and Marky an NCIS type dude, or maybe it's the other way around, I cent really remember. Anywho, they get involved in everyone from a crusty Mexican mafioso (Edward James Olmos) to a corrupt ex CIA agent played by a wild eyed Bill Paxton, in top sadistic form. There's also Denzel's luscious colleague (Paula Parton), his shark of a boss (Robert John Burke), and a few shady Navy pricks (Fred Ward and James Marsden) all thrown together in a messy, lovable piñata of a plot line that doesn't take itself too seriously, but rather ambles along to match the cavalier pace and attitude of every character in the film. The only player who conveys actual potent menace or rises above the leisurely cadence is Paxton, whose villain is pretty darn terrifying, especially when he breaks out his own patented and much more effective method of playing Russian roulette. Wahlberg and Washington are clearly having fun and they're quite enjoyable to spend time with, it's just that there's nothing particularly bold or original here, despite being a heckin good time in genre-ville.
