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The Way of the Gun | Year: 2000 Directed: - Christopher McQuarrie Actors/Actresses: - Juliette Lewis - Sarah Silverman - Benicio Del Toro - Ryan Phillippe Simple, clean action film This is a great action film. Reviewers have often seemed disappointed by this film, as they were expecting another plot and character heavy movie like The Usual Suspects (which came from the same Director/Writer). I much prefer this film. For me, The Usual Suspects was too smart by half. Throughout the film I kept imagining a writer patting himself on the back for his brilliance. This is a much leaner and meaner piece of work. The basic plot is simplicity itself: a couple of low-level criminals kidnap a pregnant surrogate mother, who is carrying the child of a crime boss. The two demand a ransom, of course. Plot, however, is not what makes this film very, very good. Director, McQuarrie, set out to create a sort of homage to the great, classic action films of the 1960's, and he has done a great job. Movies like The Getaway and Bullitt were films that were neither plot nor character driven, but driven instead by a tremendous feel for action and violence. Guns and intimidation set the pace of these films, and it sets the pace for The Way of the Gun. That is not to say that the film is without good acting and writing. The dialogue is chocked full of great lines, and all concerned give very good performances. For me, the standout performances come from the old dogs: Scott Wilson, who plays rich patriarch Hale Chidduck is great to watch. Wilson has had a long and terribly underrated career, and he turns in another great supporting character role here, full of a smooth calmness that barely overlays a quivering fury. James Caan matures very nicely as Joe Sarno, aging body guard and go-to guy for Hale Chidduck; and finally Geoffrey Lewis plays Abner Mercer, an old pro sidekick to Caan and very handy with a gun (if you don't know Lewis's name, you should. I guarantee you will recognize his face). The young dogs do nicely, too. Benicio Del Toro is hypnotic as usual and Taye Diggs is surprisingly effective as a professional gunny hired to protect and retrieve the surrogate mother. Juliette Lewis is on hand to supply the only negative in the picture, once again proving she has the God-given gift to be annoying and overact. I recommend this film highly if you long for the days when film makers weren't so tricky and cute and realized that violent action was as viable an engine for a film as plot quirks or arty dialogue. stunning show I loved pretty much everything about this movie. From the opening scene to the final, Christopher McQuarrie has put together a wonderful story. The've got to be kidding... What's the point of all the mayhem? I guess it really boils down to how one can really, really exploit a simple story line and then make it into a bloody trail and blow it to ridiculous proportions. In the middle of it all, I can only look at the time in my DVD player to find out how much time has elapsed (when is the piece going to end?). I did almost turn it off, but do not want to review something I really didn't completely finish. I couldn't even write a good review, because I'm now spending time writing this review. Just say I'm so dumbfoundingly left speechless. Just don't waste your time on this one...there's too many movies where one can spend a relaxing afternoon. Life's too short for this one. Buy The Way Of The Gun at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on The Way Of The Gun Search with the Priority Search Engine on The Way Of The Gun This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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