I didn’t go into this movie with high expectations. I mean, just look at it:
Guns and shooting and guns and explosions and Bill Paxton being hilariously evil and southern. And let me be honest: this is one of those rare movies where what you see in the trailer is exactly what you get. There are guns and shooting and explosions and a bit more brutality than is perhaps necessary and oh lord the banter. It’s basically a buddy cop odd couple movie with a bit of a twist, since the two buddies start off by betraying each other right before they get betrayed by everyone else and driven back together. That’s the entire motive behind the story. There’s not a back story for either character you ever learn, and you don’t need to; they live in the now, dealing with the current crisis and exchanging quips between bullets.
And yet, I fucking loved this movie. I think I might have laughed for this more than I did at This Is the End. Because ultimately, it’s not about the little twist on a fairly standard plot. It’s all about Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg snarking at each other like a married couple. Those two actors (with a side of Bill Paxton) carry the entire movie and make it fun, because they seem to be having a damn good time with every moment they’re onscreen. It’s fast paced, plot twists exist just to give the apparently indestructible Wahlberg and Washington another chance to hilariously bicker, and the soundtrack is excellent.
2 Guns is ultimately two grown men snarking, blowing things up, and then exchanging more witty banter. It’s exactly as advertised on the packaging, no surprises. If you like that kind of thing (and I sure do) it’s more than worth the price of admission.