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YES!!!..a twangy twisted flick from the first minute..shades of quentin tarantino and robert rodriguez...pay attention - there are subplots galore...benecio del toro, ryan phillipe and juliette lewis...every component is well done by the crew...christopher mcquarrie wrote some great dialog and then directed it..."a plan is just a list of things that don't happen". SEE IF YA LIKE THIS RIDE!!

There WAS a party, it turns out. I bought two big-ass bottles of malt liquor (actually, we call it 'strong beer' here because our liquor laws aren't as weird, but it's malt liquor) that cost me like 6 bucks. We headed over there, things got a little confused, I felt sick, somebody brough me into the washroom and I spent approximately THREE hours in semi-conciousness on the floor, trying not to throw up.

I didn't. Yay me. Except, this morning, I was crippled by that loveable kinda of nausea that hits you every time you breathe, swallow, move, blink... for a few hours. I'm okay now. The lesson, kids, is that beer, while technically more expensive, is somewhat less evil.

The Way of the Gun. My friend loves this movie; he was urging me to check it out, so I did... and I've gotta say... meh. It's a typical post-Tarantino bulletfest with an altogether uninvolving, familiar storyline. The cast is the main reason to see this... and even then...

Most gunshot ever in a movie. Wicked

A great film that if you don't get why it's great, you just won't.

"There is a natural order. The way things are meant to be. An order that says that the good guys always win, that you die when it's your time, or you have it coming. That the ending is always happy, if only for someone else. Now at some point it became clear to us that our path had been chosen, and we had nothing to offer the world, our options narrowing down to petty crime or minimum wage. So, we stepped off the path, and went looking for the fortune that we knew was looking for us. Once off the path you do what you can to eat, keep moving. You don't blow your ghost of a chance with nickel and dime. No posessions, no comforts. Need is the ultimate monkey." - Way Of The Gun

That opening monologue is just one of the many pleasures of The Way Of The Gun. The film is brimming with rich and colorful dialogue in nearly every scene. And that's just as it should be, since it was written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who's screenplay for The Usual Suspects earned him an Oscar. This is his debut in the director's chair, and the result is an edgy and provocative, if wholly uneven, crime drama.

The film is bookended by a voice-over narration from Parker (Ryan Phillippe), a verbose thug, looking for the ultimate score. His partner in crime (and also in exchanges of morality and loyalty) is Longbaugh (Benicio Del Toro). When we first meet these two, they nonchalantly get into a fight outside, with some local patrons of a bar. This teaser sequence before the opening titles, is by far the funniest and best moment in the picture. I won't go into it here, since you should just see it for yourselves.

After that hilarious event (and another one in a sperm bank), the movie abruptly changes gears on us, and settles into a melodramatic tone. The film spends the rest of its running time trying to get as far away from that opening as possible. While there's nothing wrong with that in general, the effect here is off-putting and misleading, leaving the audience feeling teased and cheated. It's one of those things that happens during the writing of the first couple drafts of a script. You're not sure what kind of movie you want yours to be. You've got all these great ideas, now if you could just find a way to comfortably apply them to a particular mood and feel.

Aside from that snag early on, the rest of the story goes down rather nicely. The story itself doesn't really start until our two leads are in the sperm bank. They overhear someone talking about a woman carrying a child for a rich couple. So, Parker and Longbaugh get a rather clever idea: Kidnap the woman, and hold her unborn child for ransom, until the rich folks pay up a handsome fee. The way these two handle the kidnapping involves a rather strategic game of wingman. I cover you, then you cover me. That way, we gradually back out of harm's way.

Parker and Longbaugh take the very pregnant woman Robin (Juliette Lewis), to a Mexican border town (these things always happen there, but never with positive results). There, they contact Mr. Chidduck, the wealthy father-to-be. They tell him to bring $15 million, or else. He's furious with Robin's bodyguards (Nicky Katt and Taye Diggs), since they failed to protect her from two seemingly small time criminals. Instead, Chidduck sends his Bag Man, Joe Sarno (James Caan) to make negotiations.

Once the premise and those characters are established, the screenplay has a wicked time turning all these conventions upside down. Characters who seem like small, supporting players at first, become deeply involved in the game through one startling revelation after another. What's interesting about this film is not only is the dialogue smart, but the action is quite clever, too. We get the world's slowest car chase, and the gun battles are pulled off with straight-forward realism. It's a refreshing change of pace to the over abundance of flashy, choppy, cartoony gunplay that's so trendy today.

This movie definitely has a more classic, Wild Bunch feel to it. Gone are the flowing trench coat, dark sunglasses and two-gun heroes of Hong Kong action pictures. Instead, things are much more serious, showing us the consequences that come with a life of crime. Even when they're trying to redeem themselves, Parker and Longbaugh get shot up and bloodied like you wouldn't believe. These men are hardened criminals, and the movie never lets us forget that, especially when we start to like them.

The performances are all top notch. The actors take some of the Aaron Spelling-like drama and elevate it to a more deserving level of material. Ryan Phillipe turns in a performance that is reminiscent of a young Al Pacino. Benicio Del Toro, while not having much to do, takes reaction and nearly turns it into an art form. It's lots of fun to see these two guys play off of each other, keeping their dialogue to a minimum and relying mostly on body language and facial expressions.

Juliette Lewis brings her all to the part of Robin, giving much needed heart to the film's otherwise cold cynicism. James Caan does what he does best. He's intimidating, wise, and even warm at times. A class act, as usual. Probably one of the more standout performances, would have to be from Taye Diggs. He's been playing likeable characters since Go, and now he has a venomous role he can really sink his teeth into. It's a pleasure to watch him do evil. So far, he's only topped himself in that department once, in Equilibrium.

Regardless of a sometimes mildly slow pace, and an uneven tone, Christopher McQuarrie handles the film with a steady hand. He obviously knows what he's doing, and I applaud him for being so sure-footed his first time out. The look of the film is that of a sun baked Western. The locations and sets have lots of texture. Probably one of the best things on the technical side to note, would be the orchestral score by Joe Kraemer. It's strong without being overpowering, and some of the string compositions are beautiful in their simplicity. You might find yourself humming some of these melodies when the movie's over.

With a polish on structure and tone, this movie might've achieved greatness. As it is, you could do tons worse. There's still plenty of elements that make up for any short comings this film might posess. The dialogue alone is superb. Add to that a strong cast, confident direction, and solid action. The Way Of The Gun equals out to a pretty fresh and entertaining ride. Kungfubear out.

The Way of the Gun...written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie.
Chrsitopher Mcquarrie broke onto the scene by writing The Usual Suspects. He wrote and directed this as his first feature. There are some critics who really hate this film. I don't get all the bad buz for this one. Without further ado:

The Good:
The shoot outs are really well-played out. They just seem really realistic to me, especially the climatic one in Mexico. The idea of one shot kills and an actual strategy to the overall shoot outs was a wonderful invention.
Another thing I really liked was the chase sequence early in the movie. Again, innventive and well done.
James Caan. His Joe Sarno is a juicy well developed character. As the "bag man", he delivers.
Benico Del Torro's Longbaugh. He's really gripping in this role.
The discussion of the game of "Hearts", and the implications it has within the film.
The Bad:
Ryan Philiippe. While the Parker character is interesting, Philippe just seems miscast in this one. Longbaugh is at least ten to fifteen years older than him...where did these two meet and develop a long partnership? What exactly is their co-backstory?
The premise seems a bit whacked. They kidnap the surrogate mother for a older rich man whose young wife doesn't want to have kids...hmmmm.
However, those Bad Points aside, I love this film.
My favorite quotes from imdb.com

Joe Sarno: So, you the brains of this outfit, or is he?
Longbaugh: Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation.

Bar Patron: Hey, hey. Yeah you, get up. What are you retarded, get off the fucking car.
Raving Bitch: Hey dickless get off the fucking car. Hey fuck suck get your slippery fucking ass of the car. Listen to me, get off the fucking car with your fucking ass.
Parker: Shut that cunts mouth or I'll come over ther and fuck start her head.
Raving Bitch: You're gonna wish you never got up this fucking morning asshole, because my boyfriend's gonna fuck you up, and then after that while he's fucking up your fucking gay uncle over there I'm gonna cut off your cock and mail it to your mother. You fucking faggot bitch. You gaylord fucking bitch. How do you like that? You like that a lot you fucking faggot? You like to ass fuck? Fontanella fucking baby head. You like to fuck baby head?
Bar Patron: Go ahead
Raving Bitch: You like to fuck boys. He's gonna fuck you in the ass, how do you like that he's not even gay but he'll do it just...
Bar Patron: Honey honey. She's got a big mouth but she's not kidding. I'm gonna whip you silly and I'm gonna fuck you stupid. You wanna do the man dance? First dance is yours.
(This is the opening sequence that sets the tone of the film perfectly)

Parker: Don't you think it's funny that if I grab a woman's ass and she punches me, she's fighting for her rights, but if a faggot grabs my ass and I punch his lights out, I'm a homophobe?

Longbaugh: I've... never killed a man.
Interviewer: I beg your pardon?
Longbaugh: I said I never killed a man.
Interviewer: I didn't ask if you had.
Longbaugh: You asked why I thought I was qualified, I think of that as qualification.
Interviewer: And I'm just wondering why that in particular strikes you as an important qualification for semen donation.
Longbaugh: I would say thats a big fucking qualification - excuse me, a very important qualification.
Interviewer: No one's ever said that before.
Longbaugh: Have you ever asked?
Interviewer: No.
Longbaugh: You should.

Parker: We don't want your forgiveness. We won't make excuses. We're not gonna blame you, even if you are an accessory... But we will not except your natural order. We didn't come for absolution, we didn't ask to be redeemed. But isn't how it is, every goddamn time... Your prayers are always answered, in the order they're received...

Longbaugh: You know what I'm gonna tell God when I see him? I'm gonna tell him I was framed.

"Far better than the average fare hitting cinemas these days."
-- Paul Gessell, OTTAWA CITIZEN

"The Way of the Gun"... The story is just too confusing for its own good, but that's really my only complaint. The movie starts off with the funniest dialogues I've heard in recent history. The scene inside the sperm bank is just classic and is intriguing as Tarantino's dialogues (I'm giving Tarantino too much credit). Then the movie begins, and it gets too confusing at that point. Confusion is good, but it's only good if it's interesting. The Way of the Gun fails at that. But still, there are too much little things I like about the film (the intro, the hearts game, the final shootout, etc).

Clever at some points, messy at some others. Still, I like it.

More ratings...

This movie is complicated and bizzare...i love it. The opening sequence is one to be remembered. Del Toro and Phillipe are an unlikely duo but they do well in this film. The two are constantly a mystery to the viewing audience. we ask ourselves "why are they together?" and "why don't they trust eachother?" Some of the dialogue is cheesy but it works well with the atmosphere. The gun battle at the end is nail-biting and intense. Just remember folks..."There's always free cheese in a mousetrap."

-Jesse "The Satan" Staton-

**1/2
From writer/director Christopher McQuarrie (wrote The Usual Suspects) comes this gritty tale of two small time crooks who believe they are going to score the easiest money in their lives but instead become dangerously entangled in a deadly game of deceit, murder, and corruption. This film, I might add, is one of the many Pulp Fiction knockoffs, adding to my list of them I have viewed (Snatch, Boondock Saints, Usual Suspects, ect). While it's my least favorite of these types of movies, it's still interesting at times. McQuarrie has an eye for the camera, delivering some really interesting views and angles. The score is well chosen, and blends in nicely. The film as a whole gets much better as it progresses to a nice ending. Del Toro, James Cann, and Juliette Lewis are the standout performances. I wasn't too impressed with Ryan Phillippe. The plot is decent, and what seems to be a run of the mill tale becomes much more of a tangled web towards the end. The dialogue is ok at times, and a some points tries too hard to be hard-edged. Overall, if you got the stomach for some disgusting gore (some of Lewis' scenes had me looking away) and the time the spend on a slightly above average crime-capper, it's not all that bad if taken in context. Personally, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone I know. Kinda had the same effect on me as Boondock Saints.