If you’re like me, you’ve probably seen all the best buddy action comedies from the eighties and nineties. I mean, this was my bread and butter while growing up. I’m talking about movies like Lethal Weapon, 48 Hours, Tango & Cash, and others. The formula was simple but highly effective and entertaining. Since I knew all these big movies by heart, I started looking for smaller releases. And this is how I stumbled upon the movie we’re going to be talking about today. Gunmen is a highly entertaining and action-packed buddy action comedy featuring one hell of a cast. It’s one of those movies everybody missed somehow and I think it’s about time we change that.
The story follows a hellbent DEA bounty hunter teaming up with a smooth criminal to locate a hidden drug stash in Latin America. The money belongs to Loomis, a drug kingpin who’s also looking for it and has his best guys on it. What follows is a zany adventure full of snarky comments, chase scenes, twists, and shootouts. Yes, Gunmen is that underrated nineties action movie you’ve been looking for. It’s going to put you in a good mood with its casual approach. And the cast is nothing short of amazing, especially when you consider the fact that this is a small action movie.
Patrick Stewart plays the evil drug while the one and only Denis Leary is his main henchman. Both of them give excellent performances. The kind of performances that make you smile each time you see them on the screen. And the ones that bring their paper-thin characters to life. Leary is such a good bad guy. If you want further proof, do check out another highly underrated nineties movie, Judgment Night. I also simply must mention Brenda Bakke who plays Maria, one of the the baddies along with Leary. Although she didn’t have a big role, she made it quite memorable.
The leads went to Christopher Lambert and Mario Van Peebles. This dynamic duet had everything you would want from an unlikely action movie couple: chemistry and pitch-perfect delivery. It is absolutely essential that these two make a good connection for this type of movie. Additionally, I think they did some of their pretty dangerous stunts. Just a year later Christopher and Mario will be trying to kill one another in Highlander: The Final Dimension. Finally, I should also mention that the director of the movie, Deran Sarafian, plays Bishop. Just because Gunmen is an underrated nineties B action movie don’t think it doesn’t look bad.
Not only did we get a proper digital remaster but the original production values along with cinematography were quite good. Hiro Narita, fresh off the set of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, did an amazing job. On top of that, the soundtrack is absolutely bitchin’. Since rap was like super popular back then, they tried to make a “hip movie”. Whether they succeeded is up to you to decide. For me, the whole thing was quite amusing and, ultimately nostalgic. As I already mentioned, the story takes place in South America making the movie feel exotic. Forget about concrete and busy highways, we’ll be spending most of our time near the jungle or in the rural areas.
There’s one thing that I couldn’t help but notice while watching this movie. Gunmen have a really weird sense of humor that somehow still works. The antics between Lambert and Van Peebles are sometimes so over the top that I don’t know how they stayed in character while filming them. And all of this is coming from Stephen Sommers, the guy who would go on to make one of my favorite movies The Mummy. Finally, if you’re looking for similar movies do first check out Drive and then Chill Factor and Seagal’s Marked For Death. Rabbit out.
Director: Deran Sarafian
Writers: Stephen Sommers
Cast: Christopher Lambert, Mario Van Peebles, Denis Leary, Patrick Stewart, Brenda Bakke, Kadeem Hardison
Fun Facts: A lot of the original footage is apparently was cut due to Miramax and Dimension Films decision to cut out a lot of scenes featuring gratuitous violence and nudity. The movie still got an R rating but they thought this would help it make more money in the theaters where Gunmen made around $3.4 million.
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IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109959/
