This image released by Universal Pictures shows Denzel Washington, left, and Mark Wahlberg in a scene from “2 Guns.”“2 Guns”? Please. There are enough guns in this movie to arm a small country. Maybe a medium-sized one.
There are plenty of jokes in “2 Guns,” this summer’s latest variation on the buddy-cop theme, starring the engaging duo of Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg. But one of the funniest things about it is that title.
Bullets fly every few seconds. By the end, it’s impossible to count how many people have died; it’s much easier to count who’s still alive.
And that’s a shame, because ultimately the bang-bang in “2 Guns,” directed by Baltasar Kormakur, becomes so tiresome that you forget what should be the main focus of the film: The appealing, easy chemistry between the leads. What should have been an entertaining two hours with this charismatic pair becomes a somewhat exhausting affair that might more aptly be called “Boys and Their Toys.”
And permit us here to express some nostalgia for a recent buddy-cop movie that also had chemistry between its stars: “The Heat,” with Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock. If they could carry a laugh-filled action film without frequent helpings of violence and torture, why can’t the men?