Buddy cop movies are getting old. They’re predictable and follow the same formula over and over again. 2 Guns is no different.
The plot involves a stereotypical DEA agent and a moronic Naval Intelligence, both of which have no idea the other is anything more than a common criminal, pairing up to pull off a heist.
At the start of the movie they appear to be drug smugglers, working for the cartel. Then all of a sudden, they decide to rip off their client by stealing $3 million from said client, because pissing off a vicious Mexican drug cartel makes sense.
Their superiors appear to be the ones that came up with the idea. The DEA needs the cash for evidence, but I have no idea why the Navy wants it. They rob the bank, but it turns out the money actually belongs to the CIA. So now they are on the run and must work out their differences.
2 Guns suffers from atrocious writing on the part of writer Blake Masters, who fails to understand what the words “on-screen-chemistry” mean. The two main characters are not believable as friends, which is a major dilemma in a buddy cop film. Both the jokes and action scenes are flat, and are made worse by director Baltasar Kormákur’s poor execution.
The performances are not much better. Denzel Washington is Denzel Washington again, like he is in nearly every movie he’s ever been in, though, he seemed less charismatic this time around. Mark Wahlberg is annoying, and overacts too much. The actor that gave a good performance was Bill Paxton as the CIA agent, and honestly I was rooting for him to kill these two idiots.
To wrap up, 2 Guns is a boring and instantly forgettable flick. Maybe it got better during the third act, but I wouldn’t know; I walked out of the theater about halfway through.
1 out 5 stars
