The Way of the Gun (2000)

Do you want redemption or don't you?
Parker and Longbaugh (Ryan Phillippe and Benecio del Toro) are two small-time hoods looking to score big by kidnapping a woman carrying a mobster's child. For some strange reason they act against their natures and common sense and decide to first let the girl go, then help her escape the clutches of the mobster who supposedly impregnated her. The Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid rip-offs (excuse me, *homages*) are apparent at points throughout, but especially obvious at the end.

What a thematic mess. Don't have the main character give us the phony voice-over telling us he's not interested in redemption, after protecting a pregnant mother from ruthless mobsters for no other possible reason than to try to redeem himself from a life of killing and grifting. Don't try to have your protagonists be both the heroes and anti-heroes at the same time. Be one or the other.

This is the only time Benecio del Toro hasn't been able to carry a movie. Some burdens are just too great.

a little disappointed with Christopher McQuarrie
Kinda sounds like a martial arts movie set in the Old West. Actually, it was a rather strange movie directed and written by the guy who wrote the screenplay for The Usual Suspects. But unlike The Usual Suspects, this lackluster film failed to deliver.

The cast was even more diverse than Suspects, if that is even possible. Ryan Philippe, Benicio del Toro, and Juliette Lewis were the headliners, with a cast rounded out by Taye Diggs, Nicky Katt, and James Caan. Caan's performance was the one diamond in this coal mine of acting drivel. He rarely fails to deliver stellar, well-nuanced characters. Taye Diggs is not believable as a bodyguard. He is a model, not an actor. Del Toro gives us his typical one-dimensional character that we've seen a thousand times, and Philippe's accent was absolutely dreadful (watch Matt Damon if you want real Boston). Lewis, typically strong (i.e. Natural Born Killers), was a little disappointing in her role as a surrogate mother for doting multi-millionaire parents.

The storyline is basically two cons (del Toro and Philippe) who abandon their typical money-making schemes (sperm donation, etc) to pursue a more lucrative idea by kidnapping the surrogate of a millionaire. After watching the first gunfight (guns galore, thus the title), one really begins to wonder where these two get their skills from. Two cons that have to jack-off to make ends meet typically don't have the elite skills of the top Army Rangers in tactical weaponry. But these two are obviously gifted in S.W.A.T. Remarkably, it becomes even more surreal as these two lead the skilled bodyguards of the surrogate down alleyways in intricate cat and mouse play that even Jerry and the Road Runner would be envious of.

A potentially intricate plot is heavily diluted by a poorly written script and even worse directing. I don't think this film is worthy of being in the same review as The Usual Suspects, much less being on its cover. This film was a good idea, but poorly executed.

a little disappointed with Christopher McQuarrie
Kinda sounds like a martial arts movie set in the Old West. Actually, it was a rather strange movie directed and written by the guy who wrote the screenplay for The Usual Suspects. But unlike The Usual Suspects, this lackluster film failed to deliver.

The cast was even more diverse than Suspects, if that is even possible. Ryan Philippe, Benicio del Toro, and Juliette Lewis were the headliners, with a cast rounded out by Taye Diggs, Nicky Katt, and James Caan. Caan's performance was the one diamond in this coal mine of acting drivel. He rarely fails to deliver stellar, well-nuanced characters. Taye Diggs is not believable as a bodyguard. He is a model, not an actor. Del Toro gives us his typical one-dimensional character that we've seen a thousand times, and Philippe's accent was absolutely dreadful (watch Matt Damon if you want real Boston). Lewis, typically strong (i.e. Natural Born Killers), was a little disappointing in her role as a surrogate mother for doting multi-millionaire parents.

The storyline is basically two cons (del Toro and Philippe) who abandon their typical money-making schemes (sperm donation, etc) to pursue a more lucrative idea by kidnapping the surrogate of a millionaire. After watching the first gunfight (guns galore, thus the title), one really begins to wonder where these two get their skills from. Two cons that have to jack-off to make ends meet typically don't have the elite skills of the top Army Rangers in tactical weaponry. But these two are obviously gifted in S.W.A.T. Remarkably, it becomes even more surreal as these two lead the skilled bodyguards of the surrogate down alleyways in intricate cat and mouse play that even Jerry and the Road Runner would be envious of.

A potentially intricate plot is heavily diluted by a poorly written script and even worse directing. I don't think this film is worthy of being in the same review as The Usual Suspects, much less being on its cover. This film was a good idea, but poorly executed.