Nothing is what it seems in Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur’s gritty “2 Guns,” a film that puts undercover agents played by Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg against each other before letting them loose on those who did them wrong. Based on the Boom! Studios limited series of the same name by Steven Grant and Mateus Santolouco, “2 Guns” seems primed to give moviegoers a late-summer palette cleanser following a season full of big-budget bombs.
While critics seem divided on whether or not “2 Guns” manages to be anything more than a throwback to ’70s conspiracy-laden crime films, most critics can agree that Washington and Wahlberg bring an A-game befitting A-list stars. The supporting cast — consisting of Bill Paxton, Paula Patton, James Marsden, and Edward James Olmos — receives just as much praise as the film’s two big guns, with each actor reveling in every old school double cross and standoff.
Read on for a sample of “2 Guns'” reviews.
Scene-Stealing Support
“[Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington are] two of the most reliable, relatable action heroes in American movies today. In ‘2 Guns’ the company they keep on screen is solid, thanks to Bill Paxton as a vicious CIA operative after the millions stolen from a New Mexico bank; Edward James Olmos as a drug lord, after the same; James Marsden, as a U.S. Naval Intelligence officer, after the same.” — Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
Mark Wahlberg And Denzel Washington
“Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg are great company. You’d want to have a beer with them, trade war stories and laugh your ass off. But that’s a fantasy. The only way you get to hang with these two big guns is to see ‘2 Guns,’ and it’s not a fair trade-off. Icelandic director Baltasar Kormakur, who worked with Wahlberg on 2012’s ‘Contraband,’ knows how to move action along. He’s so good at it that you believe the tired old B-movie plot might actually spring to life and relevance. No such luck.” — Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Predictably Unpredictable
“The thing about the everyone-is-evil setting is that it kills the element of surprise. After the first few double-crosses go down, you twig to the fact that, ‘Oh, it’s that kind of movie,’ where the betrayals are not merely expected but inevitable… Double-cross is followed by triple-cross and on and on… through countless numerical iterations of betrayal. And with each easily anticipated twist comes gunplay.” — Soren Andersen, The Seattle Times
Full Of Personality
“A movie like this rises or falls by the chemistry of its leads, and Washington and Wahlberg, two of the most likable leading men in movies today to begin with, are especially likable here. The roles are hardly the most challenging of their respective careers, but they invest them with a lot of personality and charm, from the way Wahlberg delivers an ill-timed quip to Washington’s constant fussing with [his character] Bobby’s array of designer hats.” — Scott Foundas, Variety
Late-Summer Surprise “I don’t know if any movie starring two marquee heavyweights as consistently dependable as Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg can technically qualify as an under-the-radar stealth attack, but their new buddy crime caper, ‘2 Guns,’ caught me completely off guard in all the right ways. Washington and Wahlberg, two actors who can take themselves a bit too seriously at times, cut loose and seem to be having a blast swapping below-the-belt insults as a pair of undercover agents posing as drug dealers… All I will say is that after months of big-screen bloat and bombast, ‘2 Guns’ is a much-needed reminder that the best summer surprises can come when you least expect them.” — Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly
No Comments