The Way of the Gun (2000)

You won't be disappointed!

Excellent, smart action film.

Absolutely amazing

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Hard-Boiled Neo-Noir that was mostly Panned and a big Flop. Oscar Winner Mcquarrie (Writer/The Usual Suspects) now Pens and Directs this gritty, unpleasant, edgy, Violent, and absolutely underrated Movie. This is uneasy stuff, peppered with realistic Gun-Play filled with bloody mayhem. It is all done with wit and without clichés such as Slow-Motion or Shaky-Cam.It is Dialog Driven fueled by Ultra-Violence along a road filled with unappealing Characters, Backstabbers, and Slimy/Greedy Money Men. The most sympathetic is a Bag Man/Cleaner, played with impassioned intensity by James Caan ("You can assume one thing about a broken down Old Man...He's a survivor.").Also the Audience may feel compassion for Juliette Lewis who pulls out the stops here as an about to give Birth pregnant Woman that is central to the Plot. The two Leads pull together and are despicable but if you pay close attention there is a spark of Humanism way down in their Souls. This is not meant to be a good time Movie, but there is some Fun in watching this Stylish display of Gangsters and Street Criminals. A Film that is an energetic, Craftwork that was unfairly dumped on by Critics who must have missed the Originality and Knee-Jerked this into Rip-Off-Land. Not so. This is a somewhat new take and a fresh Story on some very rotten People. A must see for Fans of sharply Written Dialog and spiked up shoot-outs, all done quite well in this blackest of Black Comedies with a Heart of Darkness.

It is very rare that a contemporary film can be called an all-time classic when it rises above its immediate competitors or succeeds the older generation of classics from which its inspiration was drawn. 'The Way of the Gun,' writer and director Christopher (The Usual Suspects) McQuarrie's crime-heist thriller unfortunately may never be accepted as a true classic for a number of reasons.It was such a superior film that it didn't have any worthy competitors, it was way too intellectual for mainstream audiences and the classics it was reminiscent of were the low-key off-mainstream B-movies no one without an outstanding knowledge of film would know of. Simply, this film is here to be appreciated by whoever will take a chance on it and those lucky few will strike gold.Two mismatched petty crooks - Mr Parker and Mr Longbaugh - live life on the road doing what they have to do to survive on the bare necessities but as Mr Parker states at the beginning of the film' "need is the ultimate monkey." Tired of finding ways to make easy money to provide for their needs, they happen upon a pregnant woman in a small town who seems to be the surrogate mother for a very wealthy man and his wife and decide it's about time they pulled off one most daring plan which would set them up for a long time.Staging a kidnapping and coming face to face with the surrogate mother's bodyguards, the plot explodes forth like a river through a bursting dam and suddenly the two petty crooks find themselves in over their heads as the expectant father turns out to be one of America's most powerful and dangerous crime kingpins.Enter Joe Sarno (Caan), a veteran "Bag Man" who has served the kingpin all his life, helping to protect his business and his finances. An old survivor who is as wise as he is guilty and who is intent on doing everything within his power to get the mother and her baby back with no collateral damage, with not a dollar less.As Sarno sets his sights on the two crooks and assesses the increasingly taut situation, the realisation that it could either be the making or complete destruction of everyone involved dawns over each single player involved and so begins a race against time as numerous secret agendas begin to rear their ugly heads.McQuarrie's film has everything audiences between the ages of 18 to 60 would appreciate; I say that because 'Way of the Gun' is not only reminiscent of violent '70's modern-day western crime thrillers, it features the kind of characters associated with those old classics and even features two of the era's most familiar faces, James Caan and Jeffrey Lewis to jog the memory.It is abusively funny and its general sense of humour is sly, if not just grim. The film's subtext skims across issues such as age and discontent, suicidal tendencies and what people will do for personal gain or merely to survive and the many reasons why. Its dramatic scenes are slowly unveiled, perfectly performed and so well timed.The cast is a powerful and heavy-set ensemble with Benicio Del Toro slinging his heavy acting weight around at will as a quiet but cunning criminal. The scenes between Longbaugh and Sarno are ingeniously fraught with charismatic cool and tangible tension and intimidation.And Ryan Phillipe admirably man-handling an assumed case of severe miscasting as his sensitive and misunderstood partner in crime; all his teenage dramas and tacky horror film roles are gladly thrown aside as he becomes a boy grown up too fast and clearly damaged by the things Parker has seen and done in his short and miserable life.Some very tense action scenes are executed finely and purvey a realistic sense of danger. To see the film go from edgy urban gunfights and car chases to all-out western-style stand-offs in the desert completes the picture and simplifies the general motive, allowing the plot to thicken of its own accord but rather than be all about gunfights and motives, the film delves deep into the desperate lives of its characters as time quickly runs out.By the end of the film, you've been through a roller coaster of human emotion, danger, abuse, intimidation and desperation and every single character has gone his or her own way, manipulating the issue for the sake of their own secret agendas. After all, the prize - fifteen million dollars - is not just fifteen million dollars. "It's a motive with a universal adaptor!" Because of 'Way of the Gun's almost impenetrable plot, its originality, wisdom and fast paced, hard hitting action, you will appreciate this film more and more every time you watch it. It belongs in every self-respecting film lover's favourites collection!

"The Usual Suspects": brilliant, innovative, Oscar-winning screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie, creative low-budget directing from Bryan Singer, giving the film a visual flair and some overall superbly directed action scenes."The Way of the Gun": screenplay by and directed by McQuarrie himself. I thought: "this should at least be interesting? Del Toro is in it?" Yeah, let's watch that.The opening scene is, in my mind, a classic. It shouldn't be spoiled by trailers of people, so I'm not going to.Then the opening credits follow. They introduce us to the awe- inspiring score by Joe Kraemer, who's been composing for movies that are insulting to his dramatic abilities as a composer. The score, at that's no-one but the director's fault, practically saves a big chuck of the movie.The movie starts dragging before you realize it. But it's okay, at first, because of some truly brilliant, "it's-like-Mamet-had-sex-with-Tarantino"-"pieces of dialog writing."There's always free cheese in a mousetrap.""Karma's justice without the satisfaction. I don't believe in justice."And, my personal favorite:"The only thing you can guess about a broken down old man... is that he is a survivor." Wonderful performance by James Caan.Then you have two secondary characters (of which there are way too many in this film): Taye Diggs & White-Mexican guy. White-Mecixan Guy is the serious one. (always bad if you remember the name of the actor and not the character - no one says "Brad Pitt in Fight Club", they say "Tyler Durden says...") Ryan Philippe plays Parker. That name you'll remember after seeing his performance. Philippe surprised me. I only knew him from "IKnow What You Did Last Summer", which was more fun-then-freight, and "Cruel Intentions", a good and somewhat underrated attempt at modernizing "Les liaisons dangereuses". Sarah Michelle Gellar outplays him in that one, though.But in this he squares off with Benicio Del Toro's Longbough. Del Toro I first saw in The Usual Suspects. A whole string of great work followed: "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas", a short part in "Snatch." that stole the entire movie, a wonderful comedic performance in the underrated "Excess Baggage" and of course, "Traffic". An Oscar well deserved. Del Toro is the kind of actor who always stretches himself in his performances, always doing something new. In this one, he made the wise choice ("suggestion to McQuarrie" says IMDBtrivia) of keeping silent most of the time. Some of his facial expressions alone makes some scenes in this worth watching.So how come this movie started dragging after a good hour? It was a long wait for a shoot-out-ending which is, admittingly, fantastically choreographed and leaves the viewer with a climax to remember. But was it worth the long wait?The problem to me is that, visually, the film is quite boring most of the time. In terms of lighting, creating the "mood, feel, style, what have you" that a movie with this kind of script deserved. Now it's just people talking like they're living chess pieces, just there for the plot to take place.There is an occasional inspired shot, especially in the last half-hour when things start to get rolling again. All of a sudden you're paying attention again. Thanks to Dick Pope, D.o.p.Aaron Sorkin, whom McQuarrie could be if he went political, realizes his writing is basically "people talking brilliantly" and that he needs a competent director to make it visually interesting, fit for a film. That's why he lets others direct.McQuarrie hasn't directed a film since "The Way of the Gun", but he is writing again. I enjoyed his occasional fingerprint in "The Tourist", a movie I otherwise didn't enjoy at all. Let's hope him and Bryan Singer get together and do a crime movie together again. "Until that day then?" Until that day.

Foul-mouthed "metrosexuals" (at the very least) Ryan Phillippe and Benicio Del Toro can't find work in Los Angeles. Despite their sharp haircuts, they are street thugs. So, they kidnap a very pregnant Juliette Lewis for ransom money. As luck would have it, Ms. Lewis turns out to be the surrogate mother for a very wealthy gangster. Mr. Phillippe and Mr. Del Toro ask for 15 million dollars in "unmarked bills" (they're new at this). Things get complicated when Lewis reveals a shocking secret about the baby. Doctor Dylan Kussman provides some plot intrigue and stiff-necked James Caan takes care of unpleasantries. Writer turning director Christopher McQuarrie mixes shoot-out and child labor blood with vociferous ads for the "Coca-Cola" company.*** The Way of the Gun (9/8/00) Christopher McQuarrie ~ Ryan Phillippe, Benicio Del Toro, Juliette Lewis, James Caan