‘2 Guns’ is a slick, stylish, and fun buddy action flick. I didn’t go in with high hopes as I thought the pairing of Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg seemed odd and forced, but one of the things I really liked about this film was their chemistry. It is surprisingly good and they play off each other very well. It is based off of Steven Grant’s graphic novel of the same name and is the story of two undercover agents from different agencies who don’t realize the other is undercover. In the beginning, each think they are setting the other up while trying to take down a Mexican drug kingpin. It’s a fun premise, but one that could have gone quickly south had it not been for the chemistry between the two lead actors.
I’m not going to say this was a fantastic storyline or a complex narrative. Edward James Olmos plays the villainous drug lord Papi Greco stereotypically, Bill Paxton plays the evil CIA agent Earl generically (although I must admit his role was fun), and Paula Patton is the requisite eye candy thrown in for the gratuitous nudity. Of course, for a buddy movie to work there has to be the witty banter. In some movies it works and in others it doesn’t. In this case, it really works. Denzel is in top cool form as DEA agent Bobby Trench and Mark Wahlberg is just a little too old to be playing the young cocky Navel special agent Michael Stigman, but he gets away with it.
I have to say, I went into this a little leery as the Black and White buddy comedy has been done to the point of cliché. Lethal Weapon and 48 hrs set the bench mark and every lazy writer since has recycled it to the point of eye rolling. Also, it just has a pulpish vibe to it and hyper violent films adapted from graphic novels rarely succeed. I was happily proven wrong and right at the same time. Every cliché in the book is in here, but the ‘2 Guns’ unapologetically makes it work through sheer force of on screen charisma and chemistry. I don’t care if I found the plot twists implausible or the situations forced and stiff. This is just a great pop corn shoot ‘em up with two actors in top comedic and action form. I feel like I should write a longer review, but like I said; it’s a basic and formulaic film, so I’m not sure what else to say other than ‘Have fun’.
I give this film **1/2 stars
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