Gunmen

source: Gunmen

Trailer—Gunmen

Gunmen

I watched this film expecting it to be a rip off of Lethal Weapon or The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Sure, the director is influenced by Sergio Leone, but that's no bad thing and this is hardly a remake of it. Instead, it has the same laid-back approach of any Leone western and is inspired by some of his great movies moments. If anything, this is much more a clone of Lethal Weapon, and it's a good one too. Being a fan of Christopher Lambert, it was great to see him in wise-cracking action and Mario Van Peebles was equally good. I also thought Denis Leary was a terrific bad guy and I liked Brenda Bakke as Maria too, a much better role for her than in Under Siege 2. I would go so far as to say this is just as much fun as Highlander, except it's a comedy with plenty of gags, some good, some not so good, but the film has so much pace to it that it doesn't really matter. So if you like a good-humoured buddy flick, and you liked Heartbreak Ridge, then you should see Gunmen.

This film is certainly uneven, and borrows from obvious Sergio Leone westerns, but you should find it entertaining. Worth seeing, if for no other reason, to see Patrick Stewart playing a crippled south american druglord who buries alive his disloyal wife in his opening scene. Another scene that will have you shaking your head in disbelief is when two main characters shoot each other in the leg in an attempt at humor.

Christopher Lambert and Mario Van Peebles star in this run of the mill action tale of a drug dealers lost millions stowed away on a boat. This leads to the unlikely teaming of a small time crook and an undercover DEA Agent in a race against the sadistic bad guy Dennis Leary. Van Peebles and Lambert work pretty well as a double act and Leary is over the top but acceptable as the bad guy, but the problem with this movie is that its so predictable. Every action cliché is there and it comes across as an over violent mix of a spaghetti western and romancing the stone. Patrick Stewart pops up as a gangster overlord but his character seems pointless more of a time filler than a significant plot element. Basically its an OK but nothing special piece of action cinema, the same thing you've seen done better 100 times before 5/10.

It is a shame Gunmen didn't get fair treatment when it was brought to DVD. Originally shot in 2.35:1 widescreen, the DVD and obviously, the video are only available in 1.33:1 full TV screen format. Almost half the picture is missing, and it shows. Even ignoring the lush scenery cut off, too often the characters' faces are missing from the frame. Even worse is that the DVD transfer is rotten. It may have been from a S-VHS master from what it looks like. It is full of film grain which compresses awfully on DVDs, making the entire movie look muddy. This is a terrible shame because Gunmen is a fun, lightweight flick of two guys, one good, the other bad, forced to work together against a common enemy. There are many funny one liners, and the action scenes are pretty good, though low budget. Denis Leary is always fun to watch when he's angry or evil, and he's almost always both in Gunmen.

GUNMEN is a brilliant action movie, and of course very funny. Once again, the great Mr. Denis Leary shows he has the chops to be a great screen villain. As with JUDGMENT NIGHT, he excels as a wonderfully nasty bad guy. As for our leads, Mario Van Peebles and Christopher Lambert work brilliantly together as they joke and shoot on the way to find some laundered drug money. I don't know what everyone's problem with Lambert is because he's been brilliant in every film I've seen him in. I hated what I saw of HIGHLANDER 3, but that was just because the film sucked, not because of Lambert. Strangely, there's no love interest for our heroes. But that's no problem. Patrick Stewart pops up in what is basically an extended cameo as Leary's boss. He's okay, but I'm glad that Leary is the main villain of the piece. GUNMEN does not disappoint as there is non-stop action and side-splitting comedy on offer. Enjoy.