"2 Guns" an entertaining action thumper.
Washington is Bobby, an undercover DEA agent. Wahlberg is Stig, an undercover Naval intelligence officer. Both are double-dealing and double-crossing as they seek the same bad guy, Mexican drug kingpin Papi Greco (Edward James Olmos). When they rob an American bank to uncover some of Papi's dirty money, the duo discovers millions more than they expected. Suddenly they are the target of an entity much more sinister than a drug lord.
Who: With Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Paula Patton. Directed by Baltasar Kormakur.
Rated: R for violence, language and brief nudity.
Running time: 109 minutes.
When: Opens today.
Where: Area theaters.
"2 Guns" also boasts a strong supporting cast. In addition to Olmos, Paula Patton is on hand as a DEA agent, James Marsden plays a corrupt military officer and Bill Paxton is a bad guy named Earl who delights in playing Russian roulette with various parts of his enemies' bodies. Paxton is clearly having a scenery-chewing ball playing the heavy.
At 58, Washington, flecks of grey in his hair, has settled nicely into wily veteran mode. At 42, Wahlberg can still project the angry young punk from Boston. But both are just boys at play when they're rolling around on the ground together or flashing their weapons. It's a tandem built to last.
You could easily see them hurtling into a "2 Guns 2."