2 Guns, available Nov. 19th on home video, managed to take two talented and likable actors, a story with great potential and an almost always fun genre and just barely score a few notches above mediocrity.
Perhaps I’m being a bit harsh. Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg look like they’re having a good time after all. Just wish I coulda had some fun, too.
2 Guns is about two men of law and country (Washington, Wahlberg) that are working on the same drug bust. They stumble across each other without realizing the other is official. Even after they do realize this, getting along and teaming up is the last thing on their to do lists. That is until they both realize they’ve been double crossed.
When I first heard the story for 2 Guns, I was excited because it sounded like a movie with a lot of potential for tense scenes and great drama a la The Departed. Alas, the film is more of a comedy than anything else. It wants to be a buddy cop movie with big explosions and big laughs. It has a few of both, but it mainly captures the worst of the buddy cop genre.
The one liners feel like they were written in the moments before uttered, the story feels deflated and out of energy from the get go and neither of these talented actors are given characters that are very fresh. In fact, Wahlberg plays a genuine I-D-I-O-T. His character’s story is way too far fetched to be believed. It would’ve worked if the film fleshed the details out a bit more and went for a few more serious moments.
Despite two great actors, a cool story and a fashionable look, 2 Guns doesn’t bring anything new to the table. It should, but it doesn’t. There’s some laughs and some stand out scenes, but this flick mainly feels like everyone got together to merely have a good time and make what their idea of a buddy cop movie was. That’s not always a blend of ingredients that leads to the best results. It didn’t here.
If you’ve made it this far in the review then let me back up a bit. I saw 2 Guns twice. I saw it in theaters and thought it was a mediocre mess. I watched it again on home video and still thought it was a mess, but honestly a feature like this plays better on the small screen. If you go in expecting nothing new and just want two hours of easy entertainment then this is probably a film right up your alley. I enjoyed the movie more at home for its small pleasures. It’s not great by any means, but fans of the genre or the actors can find some good nuggets.
The Blu-ray combo pack for 2 Guns includes a handful of special features. There’s deleted and extended scenes and a commentary with the director. The Blu-ray exclusive features include a mix of videos on the making of and the story.