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Mr. Sleep
Aug 2, 2003

Directed by: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Ryan Phillipe, Benecio Del Toro, Juliette Lewis, James Caan, Tay Diggs

The main reason why this movie didn't receive such a warm welcome at the box office was primarily because of the way it was marketed in the trailers: as a nonstop action movie. While there are four extended action sequences of armed men firing at one another, the time between such scenes was dedicated to fleshing out each individual character's motivations, swapping points of view to reveal the kidnapping plight from numerous perspectives, and essentially portraying every single character as a ruthless badass looking out for himself. Often times there would be 20-30 minutes of actionless scenes onscreen, something which definitely ruins the mood for an adrenaline junkie squirming in his seat, waiting for the next building to blow up or car chase.

Way of the Gun follows the mishaps and missteps of two criminal delinquents, Parker (Phillipe) and Longbaugh (Del Toro) as they run from town to town finding quick ways to make a quick buck. Unfortunately, getting into fights with women and ejaculating into a cup only garners them so much money, so they decide that kidnapping is the quickest possible route to a small fortune. With that genius idea firmly embedded in their skulls, they stop by a local doctor's office and kidnap Robin (Lewis), the first pregnant woman they see. What Parker and Longbaugh discover, much to their chagrin, is that Robin is carrying the baby of Hale Chidduck, a man who makes a living by inheriting his clients enemies and dispatching them, often in grisly ways. What they also discover are Robin's bodyguards, Jeffers and Obecks (Diggs and Nicky Katt), two utter sociopaths who would rather have Robin shot than kidnapped. After successfully "liberating" Robin from her two bodyguards, the trio flees to Mexico, with Chidduck deploying the disgraced Jeffers and Obecks and his old mercenary friend Sarno (Caan) to ensure the safe return of Robin and the $15 million ransom now demanded by the kidnappers.

What really stood out about the movie are the realism of the gun battles, demonstrated mostly by the frequency in which the characters have to reload their weapons, take cover, and never forget a bullet wound (versus traditional Hollywood films, where the pain of a gunshot appears in one scene only to disappear in the next). The script itself is clever and a masterful piece of writing, which is what you'd come to expect from the man who wrote The Usual Suspects, filled with hilarious one-liners and memorable dialogues.

The only downside I can see to this movie is the utter absence of three-dimensional protagonists (with the exception of Robin). Parker and Longbaugh (the names in themselves are a homage to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) are really nothing more than greedy thugs with guns who are resigned to their eventual bloody fate. It's difficult to be sympathetic to them (indeed, one of the numerous voiceovers actually denounces the audience's pity) since they are seemingly incapable of any positive emotion other than an inherent survival instinct, refusing to love or trust anyone. Indeed, in Parker and Longbaugh's world, the question isn't who you trust the most, but who you distrust the least. While all these observations may paint them as deeper than what they appear onscreen, I can assure you that, regardless of their actions, they remain hollow characterisations of greed and murder.

Nonetheless, the movie is a fantastic one. Difficult to classify because of its heavy reliance on standard formulas firmly integrated into their own respectful genres (elements of Crime, Western and Action films abound), Way of the Gun is definitely worth a viewing.

RATING: 5

PROS: Amazing, realistic gun battles, excellent screenplay
CONS: Vast majority of characters are two-dimensional, drat pregnant bitch won't stop screaming

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202677/

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FilthyImp
Sep 30, 2002

Anime Deviant
I saw it in the theater and hated every moment past the opening. Of course, this is probably because (a) it's one of the best film openings out there and (b) my girlfriend at the time was being a huge bitch.

I managed to catch it a month or two ago on a film channel. I didn't remember it being so funny. It's also pretty grim, where there isn't really any party that's in the right. The film is littered with characters that are manipulative, greedy, and downright loving creepy.

Watch it. At the very least you'll get some hot Del Toro action.

3.5/5

Binary Logic
Dec 28, 2000

Fun Shoe
The DVD commentary track is great, bumping my vote up a half point, to 4.

As Mr. Sleep says, most of the characters aren't fully realized. But some of the dialog is fantastic; the opening scene is great; so are many of the shoot-out scenarios, like the 'rolling car' sequence.

What's really amazing is that McQuarrie also wrote The Usual Suspects. So many people really like that movie, and yet haven't even bothered to check this one out.

I often connect movies by inventing sub-genres; another 'pregnant-woman-kidnapped' caper film that's both entertaining and occasionally brutally violent is Cord, aka Hide and Seek.

Remulak
Jun 8, 2001
I can't count to four.
Yams Fan
Very good movie, really more of a noir than an action flick.

Clever, funny, touching, and brutal in all the right proportions.

Domini Cane
Oct 21, 2002

You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
This is a seriously dark crime drama. The writter/director also wrote The Usual Suspects and made the film on a shoe-string. The actors do a hell of a job and there is not a lot of character exposition but you do learn about them through effective indirect characterization. This is a thinking man's movie. The action is intellegent, the dialogue (while not oscar worthy) had depth to it, and the story is subtle.

The action is fantastic. The director's brother is a Navy SEAL and was the technical advisor. (They actually show you a jew cannon, i.e. Gallil)

Pros: Fast paced story, great action, dark themes, and some decent black humor.
Cons: The pregnant bitch will not shut up. If you don't pay attention you will not get it and lose interest.

Rating: 4.5 (because it is not perfection but close)

DukeRustfield
Aug 6, 2004
This was written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who wrote The Usual Suspects, which was the biggest pile of steaming poo poo in many years.

This movie wasn't much better IMHO. The characters weren't real. They don't exist. They don't even exist in pulp serials. They exist only because he wanted them to, not because they made any sense whatsoever. Same with the plot.

I mean this huge association of "bag men" which is some term everyone in the underworld knows about. Just like Kaiser Soze. What a loving joke. These ultra-poor crooks with super expensive sniper rifle in the trunk, just like Usual Suspects.

There's lots of pointless shootouts, stupid car chases different from usual ones because hey, isn't that cool we made them different even though it's implausible? The camera lingers on the dead bodies of innocent people. For long long periods of time.

I just saw no point in the movie, the twists were artificial and I simply didn't care about even one of the characters or believed they existed.

1

3 A.M. Radio
Nov 5, 2003

Workin' too hard can give me
A heart attACK-ACK-ACK-ACK-ACK-ACK!
You oughtta' know by now...
This is such an awesome movies.

When I first saw it, I ordered it off PPV. After I watched it, I immediately ordered it again and watched it, which is really rare for me to do. The last action scene is the greatest gunfight ever. And I mean EVER. If you watch this movie, and you think it's boring, just skip ahead and watch that one part if you have to.

It's a five.

Nutmeg
Feb 8, 2004
The story is great. I love how info just keeps appearing giving it more twists and turns.

It also still has claimed "Best beginning of a movie I have seen" prize. loving awesome

5

bass hysteria
Nov 18, 2000
A real different approach to action and plot design. This movie leaves an indelible mark for me, making it very different from typical action movies. I sometimes forget that Del Toro and Phillipe are the bad guys, and I feel sympathetic for them at the end. A decent potion of the dialog is just full of substance. I loved the acting. I loved the overall tone of the movie. It’s all good.

5

Poncho
Feb 7, 2005
I cannot achieve orgasm without an elai hop
My favorite movie, hands down. I've seen it multiple times and it holds up as good as new each time, and has thus become my movie for people to watch if they come over to my house and want to watch a good movie. I'm only now reviewing it because I just saw it again with fellow goon Davis Wilkinson.

It holds up so well to repeated viewings due to the subtle presentation. No aspect of the film is emphasized to the point of being in-your-face obvious, and as a result each subsequent viewing presents a little bit more to me. There is no good guy in the film, and no bad guy either. Every character is flawed and nobody is noble, but everyone has clear motivations that drive them and make them sympathetic, despite their lack of any kind of standard charm. And as has been said, the final action scene is the greatest firefight in any film I've ever seen.

"Are... you... a human being?"

5.5, easily.

Wanh
Aug 15, 2005
wanh
Saw it with Poncho and I strongly agree with his thoughts.

5.

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LorneReams
Jun 27, 2003
I'm bizarre
I saw it in the theater and wondered why some of the people in the credits were represented with "?". I felt like I missed some hidden meanings or easter eggs somehow.


3/5

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