The Way Of The Gun (DVD)

...intelligent films often slip through the Hollywood net. To back up this theory you only have to look at this film, Way Of The Gun. In 2000 it seemed to slip the net with no huge Hollywood hype and even the release on DVD was a rather quiet affair. I discovered it somewhat by accident having been looking for films staring Benicio Del Toro I came across it and thought it sounded rather good. It isn't a media friendly film and that is perhaps the reason ...
...couples child it seems like the perfect opportunity. They soon find themselves well out of their depth having kidnapped the girl but are determined to get their one big payday no matter who stands in their way. The rich couple send their bodyguards after the kidnappers and it then becomes a case of who can keep their heads and get the result they desire. The film is brought to us by the same screenwriter behind the Usual Suspects, Christopher Mcquarrie, ...

Andy.mack 21.01.2006 · Read full review
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Review of The Way Of The Gun (DVD)

The Way of the Gun is an excellent film. The story is a familiar one, two men living outside of society make money any way they can and are not averse to a bit of violent crime. Our anti-heroes opportunistically kidnap a young pregnant girl and attempt to succesfully blackmail a dodgy millionaire. The frenetic action culminates in an orgy of shooting and death. I rented this film purely because Benecio Del Toro was in it and was pleased to find ...
...an impressive cast. The action starts with an introduction to our two main characters - Parker, played by pretty boy Ryan Phillipe, and Longbaugh, played by Benecio Del Toro. The first scene is excellent, it instantly draws you into the film and puts across the personality of this crazy duo. They are living through a variety of strange means, such as sperm donation, and it is at the sperm clinic that they overhear a conversation and decide to kidnap ...

setimerenptah 01.10.2001 · Read full review
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Review of The Way Of The Gun (DVD)

From the expletive-laden opening scene in which one of our scummy antagonists ends up breaking a woman's nose, you know this isn't going to be your ordinary shoot-em-up thriller. Ryan Phillippe grunges up nicely as the slightly softer half of the duo, while Benicio Del Toro adds another character laden with casual menace to his CV (After The Usual Suspects and Fear and Loathing...) As two drifters trying to avoid blue collar jobs, they turn to crime ...
...hatch a plan. They kidnap the mother (Juliette Lewis) and hold the unborn baby to ransom. The millionaire doesn't want to play ball, and assigns veteran bagman (James Caan) to track them down, retrieve the child, and, if necessary, kill our anti-heroes. What makes this different from your average thriller is the script - Suspects' scribe Christopher McQuarrie has subverted all the standard cliches of hostage thrillers, and in a distinctly amoral ...

Plissken 31.12.2000 · Read full review
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Review of The Way Of The Gun (DVD)

...forward to "The Way of the Gun" for one main reason, the film was written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie. McQuarrie's only previous film was the incredible "The Usual Suspects". There is a very strong cast. Benecio Del Toro returns from the Usual Suspects and gives another accomplished performance as Longbaugh. Ryan Phillippe puts in a better performance than his impressive one in Cruel Intentions; he plays Parker. The naming of these characters ...
...of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The guy who steals the show with an excellent performance is James Caan. He plays Joe Sarno who is a "bag man". He negotiates between the two parties and you would think that this part was written for Caan as her is magnificent in it. The story starts with the two main characters trying to work out how to finance there future with the minimum of effort. They stumble upon a doctor who is arranging for a surrogate ...

tommy7 08.01.2001 · Read full review
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Review of The Way Of The Gun (DVD)

With all the comparisons to any and every film ever made by Quentin Tarantino, people seem to be overlooking the fact that The Way Of The Gun is an original screenplay both written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, penman of The Usual Suspects and X Men. If, for security's sake, you really feel the need to equate The Way Of The Gun with another film or director, try The Wild Bunch, directed by the late, great Sam Peckinpah. They both center ...
...because it's the only thing they know, and both have a final shootout that takes place in an abandoned Mexican setting. This one's a lot less bloody though, and quite a bit funnier. Our protagonists in this instance are Parker (Ryan Phillippe) and Longbaugh (Benicio Del Toro), a couple of petty criminal partners (take that as you will) who make their living through low-rent contract hits and sperm donation. While at one of the aforementioned depositories, ...

Nortis_8 31.07.2001 · Read full review
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Review of The Way Of The Gun (DVD)

Ryan Phillipe moves from the dire Cruel Intentions to a film with the best intentions, but they don't quite pan out. Its a fairly violent heist movie that sometimes groans under the weight of allusions to other films, at the expense of developing a style of its own. Story Two ne'er do wells, Phillipe and Benicio Del Toro carry out the heist that will set them up for life, a job that beomes more complex at every turn as their kidnap victim, a surrogate ...
...vested interests, not to mention the lure of the $15 million ransom. Cross and double cross are never far away but though the complexity builds well it is just thrown away at the end. Script Starts off promisingly, with some great dialogue at a sperm bank but then suddenly the two leads seem to have taken a vow of silence. Its so obvious that you suspect some big disagreement between writer and director. Performances James Caan stands out in a ...

oedipus 26.08.2001 · Read full review
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Review of The Way Of The Gun (DVD)

...was one film I got the chance to see opening night in the USA. This is a film that can split an audience. The mainstream will probably see it as a muddled crime flick that borrows from Tarantino. However look beyond the surface and this is a very complex thriller with some original ideas. Firstly the gun fights hark back to old westerns and you really feel every bullet and all the tension. The car chase sequenece is one of the only ones I've seen ...
...more excitement than most. All the charcaters have different goals and differnt takes on the plot but somehow they all intertwine with some devious twists along the way. The score is fantastic and you'll be humming the end title tune for weeks to come. Special mention must also go to some great black humour involving a suicidal aide of James Caan. You may have to see it twice to try and unravel what on earth was going on but at least it makes you ...

utero 19.11.2000 (19.12.2000) · Read full review
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Review of The Way Of The Gun (DVD)

This movie is not for the nervous, nor is this film for those who don’t like blood. The writer of the brilliant “The Usual Suspects”, Christopher McQuarrie, took his debut as a Producer. Now, although this film isn’t as good as Suspects it is still an enjoyable watch. Juliette Lewis, who, normally I hate, had the perfect role - that of some whiny, snivelling, pregnant woman. I am not sure whether we, the audience, were supposed to feel sorry for ...
...helpless didn’t ruin the movie. Basically, two down and out crooks attempt a spur of the moment kidnapping when they hear about the wealth of the man whom Robin (Lewis) is having a surrogate pregnancy for. From then on in the plot is full of twists and turns and, in increasing numbers, bullets. It is one of the films in which it is hard to review without giving away too much of the story. I can safely talk about the perfection of James Caan’s acting ...

Manx 18.11.2000 · Read full review
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Review of The Way Of The Gun (DVD)

...ever you could think of the best start to a film, then this film has it. It may not be the most PC but its a cracking start to a film you then realise is going to be something else. It starts with the two main characters Parker and Longbough (Ryan Phillipe and Benicio Del Toro) getting into a fight with a man who thinks he is the hardest thing ever to grace the film screen, and so does his girlfriend. Needless to say, they do 'the mandance', and ...
...And thats a theme throughout the whole film, you get a feeling that these two criminals couldn't care less about what they are doing or getting into. And they do it with style. The plot revolves around a kidnapping of a surrogate mother to get a ransom of the people buying the baby ( its not that the wife can't have kids, shes just too lazy), the surrogate mother is getting paid handsomly, so Parker and Longbough want a piece of it. They find this ...

Murray123 15.04.2004 · Read full review
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Review of The Way Of The Gun (DVD)