Leofwine_draca GUNMEN is another of those buddy-buddy movies that were all the rage in the early '90s after the success of the LETHAL WEAPON films. This is probably one of the most undistinguished and easiest forgotten films of that sub-genre, but what the heck, I liked it anyway. The whole reason this movie is entertaining is solely down to the casting of Christopher Lambert and Mario Van Peebles, who have one of the best double acts I've seen in a movie. The script, by MUMMY director Stephen Sommers, wisely focuses on the natural humour between the pair and because they're having a ball, the viewer does too.The story is nothing new: the hunt for an elusive boat, which becomes ultimately pointless by the climax anyway. It's just an excuse to have Peebles and Lambert being hunted through various types of terrain and gunning down villains at every opportunity. The action isn't even particularly inspired, following the '90s template of 'blow everything up', and there's little attempt at style here.But I digress. Lambert is hilarious, the funniest I've seen him, playing a slightly unhinged criminal type whose laugh is completely infectious. He's a winner on good will alone, but Peebles rises to the challenge and equals him as the sterner one of the pair. There's a fine supporting cast, too, with most performances geared towards the comedic: Denis Leary, as an icy head honcho bad guy; Patrick Stewart, as a crippled crime boss; Kadeem Hardison as the comedy relief pilot; B-movie regular Brenda Bakke as a femme fatale. Still, in the end this film belongs to Lambert and Peebles. They have tons of good routines together, with the highlight being the 'first aid kit' trade-off towards the end. Still makes me chuckle just thinking about it.

TedMichaelMor Had the makers of this movie developed something from the scene where the protagonist drops the little girl from his motorcycle to the nuns, they might have made a memorable film. Of course, the film ends on a note about the little girl and the nuns but that is not the movie one gets.Roger Ebert recounts the secession of stolen elements from actual motion pictures and defines part of the problem with this mess. The film simply replicates quotes from other works.Sometimes, the film has a certain visual beauty but nothing ever comes from that beauty. The narrative is incoherent. Threads form and disappear. Nothing happens in all the rush of action. Humour almost works but again never forms patterns or stories.I do not know what the makers of this film intended. I doubt that they knew. Several films might have happened; not one did.

thebigmovieguy "Gunmen" was loosely based upon Sergio Leone's "The good, the bad and the ugly". But it isn't that much of a rip off. It's actually pretty good. Here are the most obvious resemblances :1. In "The good, the bad and the ugly", there are three men : the good, a lonesome cow-boy (Clint Eastwood); the bad, an gun-for-hire(Lee Van Cleef) and the ugly, a thief (Eli Wallach). In "Gunmen", Mario Van Peeples plays a bounty hunter (the good), Dennis Leary plays a cutthroat (the bad) and Christopher Lambert plays a thief (the ugly). The relationship between Van Peeples and Lambert in "Gunmen" is similar to Eastwood and Wallach's partnership in "The good, the bad and the ugly".2. There also is what I call the "you've got the gun and I've got the bullets" situation. In "The good, the bad and the ugly", Eastwood and Wallach are forced to work together to find the treasure because Wallach knows the name of the cemetery and Eastwood knows the name of the grave in which the treasure is buried. In "Gunmen", Van Peeples and Lambert both have their own part of the secret. Lambert knows where his brother hid the boat with 400 millions dollars aboard and Van Peeples knows its name.3. Finally, there are many scenes in "Gunmen" similar to the ones in "The good, the bad and the ugly" like the scene where Lambert is forced to reveal where the boat is to Leary (Wallach is beaten up and reveals the name of the cemetery to Van Cleef) and the scene at the end when Van Peeples makes Lambert believe he'll get rid of him to keep the treasure (Eastwood hangs Wallach but cuts him loose and shares the treasure).With all these resemblances, it makes no doubt that "Gunmen" is a remake of "The good, the bad and the ugly". A good remake, though. Considering this movie was made with a very low budget with terrific cast, I thought "Gunmen" was a cool action/adventure flick. Mario Van Peeples and Christopher Lambert are great in their roles and Dennis Leary is excellent as the main bad guy. Patrick Steward also gives a very believable performance as the drug dealer.Overall, "Gunmen" is a fun modern day remake of Sergio Leone's epic western. I give it a strong 7/10.

Keith Metcalfe (grimjack-2) This film is certainly uneven, and borrows from obvious Sergio Leone westerns, but you should find it entertaining. Worth seeing, if for no other reason, to see Patrick Stewart playing a crippled south american druglord who buries alive his disloyal wife in his opening scene. Another scene that will have you shaking your head in disbelief is when two main characters shoot each other in the leg in an attempt at humor.