Gunmen

Mario Van Peebles is cast as Cole Parker, a DEA agent in Mexico, who busts kooky smuggler Dani Servigo (Christopher Lambert) out of prison. Why has he done this? Because Dani's brother Karl was an associate of drug kingpin Loomis (Patrick Stewart) who absconded with the kingpins' $400 million fortune, and he thinks that Karl may have given Dani information as to the whereabouts of the money. Cole is also on a mission to find out who killed his father. Meanwhile, Loomis has sent an even worse bad guy, hired gun Armor O'Malley (Denis Leary), after the two of them.

"Gunmen" was an early screenwriting credit for future director Stephen Sommers, who went on to make big studio efforts like "Deep Rising", "The Mummy" (1999), and "The Mummy Returns". Here, you could already see that action and violence with a generous dose of humour was part of his style. The director of this one is Deran Sarafian, whose future credits include "Terminal Velocity" and lots of TV work. Deran casts his father, veteran filmmaker Richard Sarafian (best known for "Vanishing Point" himself), in a brief role as Van Peebles' superior.

Mostly, this is routine stuff, albeit reasonably funny, action-packed, and very swift (it clocks in at 92 minutes). The soundtrack is enjoyable, and the flick does have a suitably gritty look going for it. It's also full of violence, but not that much actual gore.

The main value lies in this cast, although Stewart doesn't get to leave much of an impression. He's been better utilized in other projects. Leary really is the main villain of the piece, and he's in fine form. The enticing Brenda Bakke is quite easy to watch as one of Leary's gang. Van Peebles is fine, but doesn't have a particularly great character to play. Lambert gets to have more fun; he always seems to be at his best when he gets to play an off the wall role. He and Van Peebles do make for an entertaining team. Kadeem Harrison has his moments as a talkative pilot, but much like Stewart, Sally Kirkland is wasted in a brief part as a gun runner. You may also recognize Robert Harper, who was crate monster fodder in "Creepshow", as a DEA agent. A handful of rap stars appear onscreen performing (Doctor Dre, Ed Lover, Eric B. & Rakim, etc.). Deran Sarafian himself has a small role as Bishop.

"Gunmen" entertains adequately for action-movie fans, with some standout moments along the way, such as a recurring motif of characters being buried alive.

Six out of 10.

"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.

GUNMEN is a brilliant action movie, and of course very funny. Once again, the great Mr. Denis Leary shows he has the chops to be a great screen villain. As with JUDGMENT NIGHT, he excels as a wonderfully nasty bad guy.

As for our leads, Mario Van Peebles and Christopher Lambert work brilliantly together as they joke and shoot on the way to find some laundered drug money. I don't know what everyone's problem with Lambert is because he's been brilliant in every film I've seen him in. I hated what I saw of HIGHLANDER 3, but that was just because the film sucked, not because of Lambert.

Strangely, there's no love interest for our heroes. But that's no problem. Patrick Stewart pops up in what is basically an extended cameo as Leary's boss. He's okay, but I'm glad that Leary is the main villain of the piece.

GUNMEN does not disappoint as there is non-stop action and side-splitting comedy on offer. Enjoy.

Drug Baron Peter Loomis (Patrick Stewart) has his $400 million dollar drug fortune stolen. Loomis sends O'Malley (Denis Leary), a ruthless killer to find his money. Cole Parker (Mario Van Peebles), a DEA Agent is on a south American mission of justice and revenge. He is sent to find his father's killer. Cole busts an eccentric smuggler (Christopher Lambert) to help Cole to find the smuggler's brother money that he has stolen from Loomis. But O'Malley wants to find the fortune for himself. In a Cat and Mouse game, Cole and the smuggler are forced to help each other to find the missing fortune trying to avoid, O'Malley and his men.

This is an fun, action-packed thriller with an fun sense of humor. This oddball cop/buddy movie with touches of the spaghetti western is directed by Deran Sarafian (Death Warrant, The Road Killer, Terminal Velocity). The film is weird and uneven but it is a fun movie to watch. Lambert is hilarious as a whacked out smuggler. This film was a Box Office disappointment. This little seen action film might have a cult following. If you love action films with something a little different. This is for you. Screenplay by Stephen Sommers (Deep Rising, The Mummy, The Mummy Returns). Panavision. (****/*****).

It is a shame Gunmen didn't get fair treatment when it was brought to DVD. Originally shot in 2.35:1 widescreen, the DVD and obviously, the video are only available in 1.33:1 full TV screen format. Almost half the picture is missing, and it shows. Even ignoring the lush scenery cut off, too often the characters' faces are missing from the frame. Even worse is that the DVD transfer is rotten. It may have been from a S-VHS master from what it looks like. It is full of film grain which compresses awfully on DVDs, making the entire movie look muddy.

This is a terrible shame because Gunmen is a fun, lightweight flick of two guys, one good, the other bad, forced to work together against a common enemy. There are many funny one liners, and the action scenes are pretty good, though low budget. Denis Leary is always fun to watch when he's angry or evil, and he's almost always both in Gunmen.