SYNOPSIS: Academy Award® winner Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg lead an all-star cast in 2 Guns, an explosive action film that tracks two operatives from competing bureaus who are forced on the run together. But there is a big problem with their unique alliance: Neither knows that the other is an undercover federal agent. 

For the past 12 months, DEA agent Bobby Trench (Washington) and U.S. naval intelligence officer Marcus Stigman (Wahlberg) have been reluctantly attached at the hip. Working undercover as members of a narcotics syndicate, each man distrusts his partner as much as the criminals they have both been tasked to take down. 

When their attempt to infiltrate a Mexican drug cartel and recover millions goes haywire, Trench and Stigman are suddenly disavowed by their superiors. Now that everyone wants them in jail or in the ground, the only person they can count on is the other. Unfortunately for their pursuers, when good guys spend years pretending to be bad, they pick up a few tricks along the way.

REVIEW: According to Wikipedia.org, this latest Baltasar Kormákur (The Deep, 2012) effort is based on the 2008 BOOM! Studios comic series, by writer Steven Grant and illustrator Mateus Santolouco. However, in my humble opinion, this super-comedic action plot bears more than a passing resemblance to Oliver Stone’s recent “Savages,” meets Duane “The Rock” Johnson’s “Snitch.”

Nevertheless, it could be said that Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg make two of the funniest and coolest partners, since Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, in Rush Hour (1998). Topping off the collective of supporting cast is the veteran actors Edward James Olmos (The Green Hornet, 2011), playing the undermined drug kingpin, and the no-nonsense Bill Paxton (Hatfields & McCoys [2012 - miniseries]). We also have the likes of James Marsden (X2: X-Men United, 2003), playing the hardcore Naval Commander and supported by eye-candy, Paula Patton (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, 2011), playing the sexy love interest DEA operative. Together, they bring us a whole lot of action and excitement, with a constant flow of comedy between the main characters, played by Washington and Wahlberg. Admirably, these characters and the storyline/angles never let us down, and by not doing so, maintain its great continuity, and not allowing for time to be bored; What’s more, is one could never guess where the dynamics between Washington and Wahlberg will take the viewer, throughout the entire 110 minute run-time. This enables the duo to instantly come true for audiences in both serious and playful moments. That being said, there are tons of laugh-out-loud moments to be had, loads of action to excite, and of course, a couple of loose-ends that never get fully resolved when it ends. This followed up with a few outdated punch-lines (that we’ve all heard once or twice before, in other movies). However, that’s par for the course in this genre though and is quite understandable, considering what it takes to pull off a successful action comedy, full of testosterone-driven celebrity ego.

Overall, I really like how 2 Guns has a steady flow of hilarity and uses the full play time to take audiences on an action-driven rollercoaster ride. Denzel and Mark are undoubtedly enjoying themselves here and certainly elevated their stock roles despite obviously pulling from characters in their respective pasts. Factoring all the above, the constantly twisting script has the majority of this latest flick feeling quite fresh as it unravels; This, despite the initial feel of being a knockoff of Dwayne Johnson’s recent effort, Snitch (2013).

Having said this, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and believe that it deserves nothing less than four and a half out of five stars for action, adventure and comedy.

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