Review - 2 Guns (2013)

Starring Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg and Bill Paxton.
Directed by Baltasar Kormakur.

After starring in previous buddy cops movies of their own, Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg team up in this action flick about corrupt cops, money laundering and deception. Both men are undercover agents with a purpose of taking down a drug lord - Papi Greco (Edward James Olmos).

Trench (Denzel) is a DEA agent while Stigman (Wahlberg) is a NCIS agent but both are unaware of the other's status. After a bank robbery in which they steal 43 million dollars from a bank linked to Grego, both men discover the truth about one another and a ring of money laundering involving more than just the drug cartel.

I found it difficult to write that plot summary for this movie just now because much of 2 Guns's plot seemed so muddled. It has a good cop vs bad cop theme going for it but I found myself a bit confused trying to follow it. Luckily there is a plot twist that somewhat helped the narrative and my understanding of it but I still couldn't shake off some of the contrivances. I'm glad that both lead characters are familiar with the whole buddy cop scenario so their chemistry is what keeps this movie afloat. Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg's humorous dialogue and go-at-its makes 2 Guns worth a watch and made it somewhat enjoyable. They make quite a good team and are very likeable characters.

What will also have you forget about the convoluted plot and keep you entertained as well is the action sequences. The movie is action packed with some blazing gun fights and explosions all around. However the movie does drag at times when there aren't any action scenes or when Mark and Denzel isn't going at it. I did find myself bored at a few instances. I think the acting overall was solid - I was most impressed with Bill Paxton in his villainous role and it was so weird seeing James Marsden in his semi-villanous role because I'm so used to him being all goofy and stuff. I didn't care much for Paula Patton's character as she didn't seem much more than a plot device. The movie did do a fair job in having us care about all the main characters - they all got their fair share of screen time but the film's plot was the downfall for me.

Overall 2 Guns has its moments and fair share of humor. Mark and Denzel make a solid duo and the film is watchable because of them. The movie could have definitely used some stronger writing but that does not stop it from providing some laughs.

Rating: 6/10