“You ever hear the saying ‘Never rob a bank across from a diner with the best doughnuts in three counties’?”

Robert ‘Bobby’ Trench (Denzel Washington) is an undercover DEA agent who is trying to take down Mexican drug cartel Papi Greco (Edward James Olmos). He unknowingly teams up with undercover Navy Seal Michael ‘Stig’ Stigman (Mark Wahlberg). However, Stig is unaware that Bobby is also an undercover agent—both men think they are just using the other to get their hands on Papi. Stig and Bobby decide to rob the small town bank used by the Cartel for evidence, but they afterwards discover there’s way more money than they expected in the vault. Now both men are being hunted down by the real owner of the money as well as by men from their own organizations. Without anyone else to trust, Stig and Bobby must learn to work together to stay alive and figure out the truth about what’s going on.

2 Guns is adapted from the graphic novel of the same name. I have not read the comic, so I can’t really provide a comparison, but the film is a buddy action/comedy that pays homage to the spaghetti western. It’s got the look of a Western, with its slightly sepia tone tone. The film contains a lot of great action sequences—from car chases to gun fights, and even a running of the bulls.

While the film does have an overall serious tone, it takes plenty of moments to keep things light and fun. Even when our heroes are in a bad situation, they still find time to joke around. The chemistry between Wahlberg and Washington is wonderful. The film opens 4 days in the future when the pair enters a diner to plot their bank robbery. Their fun banter is so natural and realistic that you feel like these guys have been friends for ages. Allowing the actors to improvise really enhances these scenes. It’s great to see the progression of these characters. First they start off pretending to be friends while secretly plotting how they are going to screw over the other one. Then they stop pretending and it’s a no-holds-barred fight to get the upper hand. Finally the pair is forced to team up again, but will they every really trust one another?

The rest of the cast is also great. Edward James Olmos doesn’t fall into the trap of playing a stereotypical Mexican druglord. His Papi Greco is more like a respected (but feared) diplomat, who also gets to show a lighter side—even while threatening lives. Bill Paxton also has a lot of fun as the quirky mystery man who is hunting down the men who stole his money. And, while there was nothing wrong with James Marsden’s performance, I think he may have been a little too young to be cast as Stig’s superior officer.

2 Guns has some fun moments and great action sequences, but overall I think it felt a little too long and drawn out. That’s not to say it isn’t worth checking out—the on-screen duo of Washington and Wahlberg is definitely worth it! The Blu-ray looks and sounds great—from the crisp clear picture to the audio track that captures all of the dialogue and action. The Blu-ray also provides a pretty solid set of bonus features—there are about 12 minutes of deleted scenes, a great half-hour behind-the-scenes featurette and a producer/director audio commentary.

What’s Included:

Film (1:49:15):

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.40:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DVS (Descriptive Video Service), Spanish DTS 5.1, French DTS 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

DVD:

• Widescreen 2.40:1
• Audio: English DD 5.1, English DVS (Descriptive Video Service), Spanish DD 5.1, French DD 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Digital Copy: (Redemption Deadline 11/19/2015)

• iTunes Digital Copy (requires disc)
• UltraViolet DigitalHD Copy redeemable via Vudu or Flixster

Extras:

• Deleted and Extended Scenes (11:50)
  A nice selection of 8 deleted/extended scenes. Play All or select from “‘Bring a Kid To Work Day'”, “Clown or Frankie?”, “Where’s Your Badge?”, “Do Me a Favor”, “Afraid of Heights”, “What Comes Around Goes Around”, “Saddle Up” and “Bobby Gets Motel Key”
• Click, Click, Bang Bang: The Making of 2 Guns (30:18)
  A behind the scenes look at the making of the film. The four segments cover things like writing the script, casting the film, selecting locations, building the sets and costumes, and doing the stunts. Features on-location interviews with cast members Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Edward James Olmos, Paula Patton, Bill Paxton, and James Marsden, producers Adam Siegel, Ross Richie, Marc Platt and Randall Emmett, author Stephen Grant, screenwriter Blake Masters, director Baltasar Kormákur, production designer Beth Mickle, costume designer Laura Jean Shannon, bull wrangler Marshall DeSouge, head trainer Trevor George, animal trainer Jason M. Owen, armorer Michael Panevics, stunt coordinator Darrin Prescott, special effects coordinator James “Jimmy” Lorimer and fire chief Chris Mickal. Play All or select from “Undercover and Into Action”, “The Good, The Bad and The Sexy”, “Finding the Vibe”, and “Living Dangerously”. (The DVD only contains the first 6-minute section, “Undercover and Into Action”.)
• Feature Commentary with Director Baltasar Kormákur and Producer Adam Siegel (1:49:15)
  Director Baltasar Kormákur and Producer Adam Siegel provide an interesting commentary with lots of great behind-the-scenes production tidbits. They talk about the locations, the chemistry between Washington and Wahlberg, as well as some discussion of the original graphic novel.

Final Thoughts:

2 Guns is an entertaining action/comedy, with great performances by Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg, whose on-screen chemistry is excellent. The Blu-ray looks and sounds great and contains an interesting set of bonus features that provide a nice look behind-the-scenes of the production. While the film felt a bit long by the end, I still think it’s worth checking out.