When Earl literally threatens Bobby's manhood, Paxton and Denzel play the scene as the coolest satire on masculinity I've seen in ages. As Bobby, Denzel is Denzel, charming, a bit goofy, and incredibly unflappable. As Stig, Wahlberg plays an even more over-the-top version of his cop character from 'The Other Guys.' He's funny, a tad sadistic, and manages a sincerity toward Washington that feels genuine. Patton manages to wring conflicting emotions from her character and from us. The acting is better than the standard action film requires. This is a slower, more meditative film than advertised, finding time for quirkiness and humorous banter alongside the explosions. The tone, pacing and staging of the action sequences are pleasantly surprising. Like a good jazz improvisation, '2 Guns' leads to the same place but not the way you may expect. Cliché is not a bad thing if it's done right. '2 Guns' works because it's essentially several riffs on familiar material. You've seen all this before, and many times. It's a cinematically natural path for these characters, even if this love affair is consummated by bullets piercing each other's flesh. Bobby and Stig go after all those who wronged them, forming the predictable bromance along the way. While she's eventually a major cog in this machine of a plot, this is still a boys' club of a movie. With the easy chemistry she has with her 'John Q' co-star, she also provides some emotional heft for Bobby. As expected, she provides the brief nudity the MPAA description warned you about. This makes his every appearance an uneasy one.Īlong for the ride is Deb ( Paula Patton), Bobby's on-again, off-again DEA agent love interest. Paxton clearly enjoys his sadism, bringing to it a committed, pitch-black comic vibe. When Earl doesn't get answers, he tortures and brutalizes his victims. The true owners of the money are represented by Earl (Bill Paxton), a Southern-fried cross between Anton Chigurh and Chang from ' Only God Forgives.' Earl asks everyone he encounters for that money, starting with the poor manager of the knocked off bank. The trailer also reveals that the oft-mentioned $43.125 million doesn't belong to Papi Greco. These and other familiar plot devices lead to the reteaming of Bobby and Stig. Stig is repaid for his Naval loyalty by the murderous intent of his superior officers Quince ( James Marsden) and Jessup ( Robert John Burke). After the robbery, and the discovery of far more money than anticipated, Stig shoots Bobby when the latter reveals his true identity. The commercials and the trailer reveal their identities immediately. I was surprised how long the film keeps us in the dark on the intentions of Bobby and Stig.

The targeted bank supposedly contains Greco's drug money in safe deposit boxes. The duo, who have been operating together over two years, plan to frame each other as a means to the same end: the capture of drug lord Papi Greco ( Edward James Olmos).

They plan to rob a bank across the street from a diner with 'the best donuts in 3 counties.' Neither is aware that the other is on the right side of the law-Bobby's DEA and Stig is with the Navy. Double-crosses abound, starting with those of our protagonists Bobby ( Denzel Washington) and Stig ( Mark Wahlberg). Money corrupts, and everyone in '2 Guns' is afflicted: The drug cartel leader, the cops, the DEA, the CIA, and the Navy all get dumped into the same bottomless pit of deceit. It would take 43.125 million rap videos set in strip clubs to match the fetishistic glee with which this money is presented, especially in the film's climax. Director Baltasar Kormákur and cinematographer Oliver Wood always shoot it from above, usually with someone in frame as a visual counterpoint. The money appears onscreen as an enormous, gasp-inducing pile of cash. If you remember nothing else about 2 Guns, you'll remember the exact amount that gets most of its cast killed.

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