2 Guns

2 Guns – Dir. Baltasar Kormákur (2013)

2013 was another huge year for comic book movies with Iron Man 3 and Man of Steel doing blockbuster numbers and Thor: The Dark World closing out the year. Meanwhile, films based on non-superhero properties like R.I.P.D. and Red 2 didn't get quite as much attention. This brings us to 2 Guns, based on a little known mini-series published by BOOM! Studios. Most folks would probably be surprised to hear that it was adapted from a comic though it does feature the titanic team-up of Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg.

Bobby Trench (Washington) and Michael Stigman (Wahlberg) are a pair of crooks who decide to steal $3 million from safety deposit boxes belonging to drug lord Papi Greco (Edward James Olmos). These boxes are tucked away inside a bank vault in the tiny town of Tres Cruces. If that sounds familiar, then you’ve seen the 70's neo-noir classic Charley Varrick, which screenwriter Blake Masters borrows heavily from. In a series of twists and turns, Trench is revealed to be an undercover DEA agent while Stigman is actually working for Naval Intelligence. Neither man was aware of the other's true identity. Even worse, the bank didn't hold $3 million, but over $43 million belonging to an illegal CIA slush fund. Stigman narrowly escapes an attempt on his life by his corrupt commanding officer Quince (James Marsden), who wants the cash for himself. He'll have to get in line because Papi wants it too and so does the sadistic CIA agent Earl (Bill Paxton).

2 Guns feels like it could have come straight out of the hyperkinetic wheelhouse of the late-Tony Scott. This is a fast-paced, brainless affair that builds to a cluttered climax as four different factions (five, if you count a herd of stampeding bulls) shoot it out for a trunk load of dollars. However, Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur, who previously worked with Wahlberg on Contraband, doesn't have Scott's visual panache. Still, the action sequences are decent enough, save for a rough looking car chase.

What really sells 2 Guns is the chemistry between its leads. The interplay shared by Wahlberg and Washington harkens back to the buddy cop formula set by Lethal Weapon. Both protagonists give as good as they get as their one-liners fly faster and more frequently than their bullets. The burden of carrying the movie doesn't fall squarely on their shoulders thanks to a game supporting cast. Perennial nice guy James Marsden is cast against type as a back-stabbing naval officer while Edward James Olmos is perfectly grizzled as a cartel boss. Yet, they all pale in comparison to the scene chewing performance of Bill Paxton, who affects a thick Southern accent to portray the main antagonist. 2 Guns is so overstuffed with testosterone that there's no room for a strong female character. That's a shame because Paula Patton played a pretty kick-ass secret agent in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. Instead, she's a damsel in distress who spends most of her time either tied up to a chair or gratuitously slinking around with nothing on except wafer-thin panties. Yeah, okay, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

2 Guns is such a breezy trifle that you almost forget just how surprisingly cynical it is. Just about every branch of the American government is portrayed as corrupt, incompetent, or simply uncaring. Stigman cracks a joke about purchasing his high-powered sniper rifle at K-Mart (are they still around?) and the US/Mexico border is patrolled by good ol' boys looking to dispense redneck justice to anybody with dark skin.

2 Guns may be formulaic and predictable, but the winning charm of Washington and Wahlberg make it a passable bit of popcorn entertainment.

Rating: ** (*****)

Safe

Safe - Dir. Boaz Yakin (2012)

"You got some balls, Luke."

"Yeah, amazing I can even walk."

If you want to get me to fork over my ticket money, all you need are two simple words: Jason Statham. The British butt kicker isn't a classically trained Shakespearean thespian, but he does possess a strong screen presence that makes him one of few actors capable of being a top action star. Safe is the latest entry in Statham's oeuvre, a gritty action flick set in the New York underworld. Safe was written and directed by Boaz Yakin, whose diverse previous efforts as director have been Remember the Titans and Uptown Girls. His writing credits include Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, and The Punisher. Not the Thomas Jane one, but the Dolph Lundgren version from 1989. That last picture is probably the closest in tone to Safe.

Statham plays Luke Wright, a homeless bum who was once an MMA fighter and before that a top cop in the NYPD. His life has gone downhill ever since the Russian mob murdered his wife after botching a fixed fight. Things change when Luke spots his wife's killer as they pursue a young girl named Mei (Catherine Chan) through the subway. Mei is a math prodigy grabbed off the streets of China by the Triads and put to work as a human computer for Han Jiao (James Hong). Mei and Luke are eventually embroiled in a turf war between the Chinese and the Russians, both of whom are after a coded sequence the girl has memorized, which will lead to a hidden cache of money. There's also a team of crooked police detectives, former comrades of Luke's with connections to the mayor (Chris Sarandon), looking to cash in as well. Luke pulls a Yojimbo and attempts to play all three sides in an effort to protect Mei and redeem himself.

If you've seen one Jason Statham movie, you've seen them all. Safe doesn't do much to distinguish itself from The Mechanic, Killer Elite, or any of the Transporter movies. The only surprising element in Safe is the fact that former Devo frontman Mark Mothersbaugh composed the score. Yakin isn't a spectacular action director, but he doesn't lean on the shaky camera and quick editing that the majority of American directors overuse. Yakin devotes the first half hour of Safe for the setup, taking his time to introduce a plethora of characters and subplots. Front loading the movie turns out to be a shrewd choice as it saves all the mayhem for the second and third acts. For nearly an hour, Statham embarks on a path of righteous fury, engaging in violent shootouts and fisticuffs. There's a close combat fight sequence on a subway train and chaotic carnage at a trendy restaurant with Statham suplexing a man through a table.

The relationship between Luke and Mei borrows a little from Luc Besson's Leon though Catherine Chan is no Natalie Portman. Safe has more in common with the current crop of action flicks churned out by the Besson machine with its leaden dialogue and by-the-numbers plot. If not for Jason Statham, Safe would have been relegated to forgettable, direct-to-video status.

Rating: ** ½ (*****)