| The Way of the Gun | | Cast : | Benicio Del Toro, Ryan Phillippe | | Director : | Christopher McQuarrie | | Studio : | Artisan Entertainment | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | September 08, 2000 | | DVD Released Date : | October 21, 2003 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | April 26, 2005 | | Summary | HAS ENOUGH BLOOD TO GAG A VAMPIRE | Content
 | Brief plot summary: two low life hoods kidnap a pregnant surrogate mother. Her baby's "father" (sort of) turns out to be a mob boss (or has mob connections), said mob boss whistles up his goons, they go after the hoods, and then a lot of people die. If you like watching characters for whom you care nothing about get slaughtered in bloody gun fights, this film is for you. You don't have to worry about a plot or being required to use your brain, just sit back and watch the mayhem. Speaking for myself, the first 10 minutes of guttermouth verbal abuse directed at del Torro and his pal by the woman he ended up punching out was more than enough for me, but unfortunately, the friends I was with wanted to see the whole thing, and I had to sit through the whole thing to the very bloody end. So, in summary, Way of the Gun is just a Pulp Fiction wannabe put together by some Quentin Tarrantino wannabe and you could do a lot better for an evening's home viewing. If gritty violence is what you like, and feasable plots are optional, Narc with Jason Patrick (one of Hollywood's better stars and one of the least appreciated) and Ray Liotta is a far more masterful piece of film than the sophmoric Way of the Gun. |
| Rating | | | Date | March 31, 2005 | | Summary | modern-day western | Content
| Within the 5 minutes of the Way of the Gun, after a severe assault of swear words, followed by the all out malee in the parking lot of the Dive Bar in L.A., we are introduced to the main characters, Mr. Parker and Mr. Longbaugh. Little known to watchers and not at all elluded to in any way through the course of the film, Parker and Longbaugh were the real surnames of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; two outlaws always on the lookout for a quick, and illegal, way to make money. This is what we see with Way of the Gun's Parker (Ryan Phillipe) and Longbaugh (Benecio de Toro), two drifters and petty criminals, modern day Butch and Sundance in an up for anything, make money any way possible to survive. And set with the backdrop of the Mexican desert and mountains, and the musical score, which sounds like something straight off of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, writer/director Christopher McQuarrie (writer of The Usual Suspects)sets the stage for a modern day western, a updated cowboy film about money, greed, loyalty, and family, in many senses of the word. Even the title sounds like the name of a Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, or Sam Elliot movie.
The film is filled to the brim with exciting shootouts; an old western-style standoff within the confines of a Mexican hacienda-like hotel, complete with a saloon and fountain filled with dust and sharp turns. The movie is also bullet-riddled with a good lines and a well-written narrative, spoken in full by Mr. Parker. Twists and turns, hard men softening their mentality long enough to reload their metaphorical six-shooters, and the pitting of young and reckless against old and seasoned, dialogue and bullet-wise, all fill the just near 2 hours of this greatly unique film. Fans of the modern day shoot 'em up and the classic western standoff will be pleased with this film, where irony, chance, and fate rule as undertones to the overtone of the modern-day western.
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| Rating | | | Date | March 21, 2005 | | Summary | "Karma's only justice without satisfaction." | Content
| You know, for someone that was voted one of `The 25 Future Powers under 35' by Premiere Magazine, Christopher McQuarrie seems to have fallen off the radar recently, with The Way of the Gun (2000) being his last film, which is too bad as I think he has a really good sense of how to tell a story in a unique and interesting way. Along with writing the film, McQuarrie also makes his directorial debut. Appearing in the film is quite a cast (perhaps drawn by the siren song of working on a project by the person responsible for highly popular The Usual Suspects) in James Caan (Misery), Benicio Del Toro (The Usual Suspects), and Ryan Phillippe (I Know What You Did Last Summer), along with Taye Diggs (Chicago), Juliette Lewis (Cold Creek Manor), Geoffrey Lewis (Salem's Lot), and Scott Wilson (In the Heat of the Night).
The film starts with an exercise to see how much profanity can be crammed into the first two minutes. If there ever were a contest for such a thing, The Way of the Gun would surely rank. Once we get past that, we meet two individuals in Longbaugh (Del Toro) and Parker (Phillippe). They appear to be a couple of grifter types, surviving on the fringe of the system, collecting money where they can, including, but not limited to, donating baby batter, which is where they conceive (pardon the pun) an idea to kidnap a pregnant woman (Lewis) and hold her for ransom. Turns out the woman is a surrogate mother, and her benefactors, the soon-to be recipients of the unborn babe, are going to pay the woman one million dollars once the transaction is completed, so the duo figure they got some very deep pockets. Oh yeah, she's also constantly by bodyguards, which probably cost a pretty penny. The plan goes off, but not without a hitch as a gun battle between the duo and the bodyguards ensues, but they eventually do make off with the woman, only to learn the surrogate father is a rich and powerful figure linked to various underworld elements, and has no problem in using such elements to avoid any nasty entanglements with the police. One of these elements is Joe Sarno (Caan), essentially a bagman (a person who collects money, as for racketeers), but also someone who has a unique interest in the events so far, much more so than just performing a task assigned to him by his employer. As the once duo, now a trio (a foursome, if you count the unborn baby) head south of the border (that's Mexico to you and me, pard), things get really complicated as certain aspects of certain relationships are revealed, leaving this viewer to often time be left scratching his head, not so much out of the need to relieve an itch, but in a bewildered sense, as confusion settled in...but never fear, things do sort themselves out in their own, sweet time, at least enough to stop me from scratching my head and move on to other parts of my anatomy...(ain't thet a pretty picture)
Now let me say upfront, I'm wary of writers who also want to direct. It's not uncommon, as they feel that's the best way to translate their vision to celluloid, and sometimes it works well, but that's not always the case. In his previous two films, Public Access (1993) and The Usual Suspects, the directing chores were assigned to Bryan Singer (X-Men), and while I haven't yet seen Public Access, The Usual Suspects was a o fun (Singer is currently working on the new Superman movie, scheduled to be released in 2006, with Kevin Spacey to appear as Lex Luthor...does anyone remember Spacey's cameo as Dr. Evil in the last Austin Powers film?). I did enjoy the film, but I felt there were really no standout performances. It was almost like the story overshadowed the characters. Phillippe and Del Toro's characters seemed to be the main ones early on, but they soon became peripherals as the story progressed. As far as Caan's character goes, it isn't like we haven't seen him do virtually the same character he's done many times before..and then there's Juliette Lewis...I don't really care for her as an actress that much, as I tire of the waifish idiot routine, and imagine that same routine except now she's waddling around, about to spew forth a baby. She actually does well, and I give her agent a ton a credit as he/she/they have kept her working continuously, with five films scheduled for release in 2005. While I did enjoy the film a lot, I thought McQuarrie got a little too cutesy with the dialogue at some points, and maybe he himself realized this as there's one scene featuring one of the characters making fun of the way another talks. The pacing of the story felt a little odd, as the beginning starts out with a lot of action, then wanes throughout the middle, finishing up stronger than it began. The plot proceeds in a linear fashion, but the details involving the characters do not, as bits of crucial information are revealed when McQuarrie deemed necessary. This results in confusion and sometimes frustration, but he doesn't leaving you hanging too much, as things become clear near the end. I respect his ability to visualize telling a tale in this manner, as if I tried to do it, I would mess things up horribly, constantly tripping over my own plot threads. All in all, there's lots of gunplay, lots of blood, smart performances, smart writing, and an entertaining film.
The widescreen anamorphic (1.85:1) picture (enhanced for 16 X 9 TVs) looks sharp, and the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio is clear. Special features include a commentary track by the director and composer, an isolated music track featuring commentary by the composer, storyboards and script of a deleted scene, production notes, and biographies with video interviews with the cast.
Cookieman108
By the way, if I learned anything from this film (as I'm sure Ryan Phillippe's character of Parker did), it is to always look before you leap, especially in and around a Mexican brothel...
I bought this as an Artisan Entertainment 2-pack, along with the film Killing Zoe (1994) from Amazon. Separately, The Way of the Gun is listed as $9.98, Killing Zoe $13.48, and the two pack cost $17.98, so you do the math. |
| Rating | | | Date | March 14, 2005 | | Summary | The Way Of The Gun is bloody great fun......a great ride | Content
| A plan boils in place for both Ryan Phillippe (The I Inside, Antitrust) and Benicio Del Toro (Traffic, Sin City) as they kidnap a very pregnant Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers, Cold Creek Manor) for ransom. The heat turns up as everyone wants her unborn baby. The result ends up in a blood soaked mayhem of a showdown in some Mexican place in the middle of the desert. James Caan (Dogville, Elf), Nicky Katt (Suburbia, Boiler Room), Taye Diggs (Chicago, New Best Friend), Dylan Kussman (Dead Poet's Society), Kristen Lehman (Tv's The Outer Limits), Scott Wilson (Shiloh, Dead Man Walking) and Geoffrey Lewis (Salem's Lot, The New Guy) star in this, for me it was a good movie, you be the judge. From the acclaimed writer of The Usual Suspects, Christopher McQuarrie. McQuarrie also directed. Fast, fierce and brutal. Phillippe and especially Del Toro are great as hell. |
| Rating | | | Date | December 08, 2004 | | Summary | excellent movie | Content
| First off if you're considering buying this movie, definitely read at least three pages of the reviews here and more if possible. You'll get a good feel of the film that way. Some folks get this movie and some have no clue at all.
I'm just going to add some comments that are lacking or that have been mis-stated.
First, only in the most loose definition of plot twists or subplots, does this film have either. The story is entirely linear, however you have to piece together parts of the story from sparse information. The story begins at least 9 months prior to when the movie starts with the relationship and "deal" between the bagman and the surrogate mother (but you don't know this until nearly the end and it's subtle enough to miss). The film story fully begins with the kidnapping. From that point on the various antagonists all see opportunities and then angle to make it happen, except for the bagman who is protecting more than his employer.
Second, this is not about petty crooks and a botched job. This is a story that involves professional criminals, professional mobsters and professional bodyguards, all of whom show clarity and intelligence beyond typical clever, one-liner, hollywood scripting.
The fact that police are only peripherally involved in any part of the film simply indicates that the dealings are far beyond your average cops and robbers style movie. This is a subculture that is not visible to normal society. The dialogue between Longbaugh and Sarno should illustrate this nicely. There is an understanding between them that goes well beyond the simple words. This is equally true for the relationship between Longbaugh and Parker, and Sarno and Abner - much is conveyed but little is said. This is a product of excellence in both acting and directing.
Lastly, the viewer is conflicted by the characters. Bodyguards should be good guys, but are not sympathetic and are really just mercenary. Chidduck is a bad person, but is the only person with a good intent. Longbaugh, Parker and Sarno are criminals pure and simple, but can be sympathetic. All of these characters show that the line between good/evil, or honor/dishonor, or morality, etc is a very blurry line, and one that the characters cross over without regret. There are no absolutes.
This is good script writing, because that does not happen by sheer good fortune.
One last thought. I feel that this film is better than the Usual Suspects. Simply because I think the Way of the Gun is more believable and more steeped in reality. The Usual Suspects to me was clever but ultimately a fantasy. |
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