Great Film overall

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Humor? Heroism? Commitment? Determination? Romance? Empathy? Mutual respect? Everything except the sadism scenes seemed like a phone in, walk through, rehearsal? This suggested a theory. Deliberate sabotage? Perhaps the director and editor decided they despised their stars and maybe the suits as well. They used weak footage or even asked for some rehearsal but the camera was running. This would also explain the choppy ludicrous directing/editing. Some of those reaction shots? The ending? C,mon. Can Mark Wahlberg smile for real now? Did he need counseling?

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.

Denzel and Mark had a really good chemistry, the movie develops well. And the ending is not a disappointment either. For the end, I just have to say: GIVES US BACK THE IMDb MESSAGE BOARDS; Where the f*ck Are we suppose to talk about movies now?? Reddit? THATS A BIG NOPE FROM ME; I am really bothered by that and I am pretty sure your traffic will go way down because of this. It was a bad, greedy move by IMDb Staff. You should just hire more mods (or make them voluntary) to KEEP THE TROLLS AWAY. Not canceling them....For f*ck's sake...

2 GUNS is a film with a fantastic opening scene: thrilling, funny, sharply written, reminiscent of Tarantino's PULP FICTION. It introduces Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington as a pair of thieves who spend the whole film wisecracking and falling out, but there are twists involved with their characters and this turns into a post-modern version of LETHAL WEAPON.Sadly, the rest of the film can't sustain the quality of the opening set-piece, and 2 GUNS turns into a fairly ordinary thriller with some good dialogue to recommend it. Washington seems to be effortlessly able to turn his hand to any role he takes on and he's excellent in this, and Wahlberg provides a good foil too. Apparently these guys ad-libbed a lot of their own dialogue and the camaraderie between them feels naturalistic.The plotting is very predictable stuff and needlessly convoluted in places. It's one of those films where everyone seems to be corrupt and is after the central characters. It does feature a number of familiar faces parts in various roles, actors including James Marsden, Bill Paxton, Fred Ward, and Edward James Olmos, the latter a welcome return to the big screen after being off it for many years. There's sex, violence, lots of raucous humour, and more besides, but 2 GUNS lacks real character to make it stand out. Washington and Wahlberg deserved a better movie.