The Guns of The Way of the Gun.

I'm writing this Guns Of review purely for The Horde, who has requested it so many times, in so many creative ways, that I can not ignore it. This is for you.

To be honest, I don't like this movie. I don't consider it funny. I don't consider it to have any redeeming qualities. And it has Juliet Lewis in it, who I find repulsive. Okay, I pretty much flat out hate this movie. But it does have a lot of guns, a lot of popularity, and some interesting gun play. So let's get down to it.

We see the two anti-heroes get in to a fight, get beat up by a club crowd, and then we seen them driving across the desert in a hot-rod.  Next thing we know, they start wanking off for money in a sperm bank and overhear some discussion about a girl. This is when the big plan is made. To steal the girl from the bodyguards.

The way they take the upper hand is interesting. They basically divert attention in a most obvious manner while ambushing from the rear. Very smoothly done, and thank heavens this is a movie or it wouldn't have worked. Because a real team of guards wouldn't have dropped there attention on the first threat. They would have just dropped the threat altogether.
The first guns we see are the guard's HK USP pistols riding in the holsters. But they didn't draw them in time.

Del Toro pulls out a classic Colt Government Model 1911 and takes the girl.

His partner in the pantyhose is packing two more 1911's.

These are some interesting choices. For a couple of idiots, they have shown some very good taste in hardware so far. The '68 Cougar they drove earlier, .45 caliber 1911 Colts. They do have some flair don't they?

The snatch and grab goes wrong and there is a gunfight outside.

Once all parties are out side we see Del Toro getting busy with a Remington 870 that has been modified with an extended feed tube and synthetic stocks. A good choice for a weapon to have should you get into a gunfight. We see him short stroke the gun and it fails to eject. He clears the jam with a very clumsy move, but it worked, and he is back in business. The Anti-Heroes then make their getaway in a Chevy Suburban, where the first order of business is reloading the gun. The Remington 870 is pretty much “The Pump Action Shotgun”. It's an old design that has been around for ages. It's a proven and reliable design. While it's not as strong as Mossberg, with it's smoother action, it doesn't have to be. Pretty much if an 870 jams up, it's either because the operator screwed up or there is a mechanical problem. Where he gets the shotgun is a good question. The 1911's are stock, while the shotgun is tricked. We can only assume that Del Toro got it from the guards outside when the jumped out and surprised them before the first guards could warn them.

When the guards give chase, we see laying on the ground 4 dead bodies, which look to be two other guards, and two bystanders, one a woman. This is where my interest in the Anti-Heroes declines like a bowling ball dropped off the top of the Seattle Space Needle.

The guards catch up to the villains where we see Taye Diggs (from Equilibrium) brandishing a Mossberg 590, getting it ready for action.

Again, shotguns like these are meant for gunfighting. They are a first choice weapon should a fight be expected. They are versatile, powerful, and they make getting hits on your target easier thanks to the buckshot's spread. Inside 100 Yards they are brutal. If you have to go into a gunfight, packing a scattergun gives you a good chance of survival if you know how to use it.

The Villains play an interesting game of cat and mouse and get away.

Del Toro later starts shoplifting. Now, I don't get this. These guys have a kidnapped girl in the van, at a truck stop... and he is shoplifting? Does he want to have the State Police called on him? Bad move. You don't anything to risk a mission, not for some peanuts and Advil.

Villain II meanwhiles calls the Doctor... leaving the girl alone on the van. Another bad move. But this is a movie, so we don't ask questions.

The Doctor comes out to see the girl. Where VII finds the Doc's Walther PPK/S, a small compact .380. A spendy but otherwise fine self defense weapon. I like the PPK and had one for a short time. Shot because .380 is not my caliber of choice, but if you have to carry when you can't carry anything bigger, trust me, it works better than just harsh language. You'll know the PPK as the gun of choice of James Bond in most of the Bond movies. The PPK/S is an American made version and it uses grip scales that are a little thicker and rounder making it more comfortable to handle. It's also second choice to the German made original for collectors. Both have horrible double action trigger pulls that even the finest gunsmiths can not smooth up thanks to the trigger lockwork's geometry. Regardless of the double action pull, it's a classic pistol. If you have the chance to ever shoot with one, take it. Walther pioneered the Double Action -Single Action trigger system that has been used most pistols ever since. We see Del Toro field stripping the Walther and throwing the parts into the Doc's bag. There is a close up of it, and you see why the Walther is so popular. Notice how the spring goes around the barrel? It can do that because the barrel is fixed. This makes for a very accurate handgun once you get past things like small grip, bad triggers, and poor sights.

The next guns we see are a collection of snub-nosed .357's. Different makes and models, sorry I can't tell you what they all are. Even on DVD, I can't get a clear enough picture to ID them. One however is a Taurus, you can tell that from the little gold colored medallion in the grip. Taurus makes pretty decent S&W clones, and they are getting better every year. They also come with a lifetime warranty so if you have any problem with your Taurus, just give them a call and they will get it fixed. Good company to work with. A lot of guys bash them for past sins, but the company has truly stepped up in every department.

I really don't understand why Juliet Lewis is considered “hot” by so many guys and gets so many movie rolls. She's a disgusting tramp in my opinion. Her hideousness is a distraction. But she makes a decent match with Del Toro. Someone who looks about as good as 2 day old roadkill.  Their kids might be cute.

James Caan is an interesting character, and he plays his typical James Caan tough guy roll. But it doesn't really come off so well because he can't move his neck. Doesn't seem so tough any more. But let's move on.

The girl gets her hand on a double barreled side by side scattergun. It's make is impossible to tell, but the style is what is popularly called a “Coach Gun”. You can pick up a gun such as this from EAA or a number of other makers and importers. This type of gun has been made since the 1800's and it still popular for a good reason. Rock hard reliability, and monosyllabic simplicity.

There is a little ambush where we see the two villains use a scoped rifle to take down some Mexican cops and wound a guard. This rifle looks to be a Galil with wooden furniture. But it is hard to tell with the dark lighting. Ah, later we see that it is.

In the Mexican compound we see the two villains bringing their long arms. The Galil and the Remington. They use tactics that look good, but are not actually tactically sound. They do a good job on transitions to their pistols, but that's about it. Looks good on film, them all serious looking and wearing body armor, but guys, that's not how you do it in real life.

The Doc uses that PPK/S to take out Diggs.  A shot to the throat, up into the head.  Lots of blood, limited movement of the person hit, but probably not all that realistic unless the bullet hit just right.  Because either the bullet wouldn't have actually done all that much damage or the guy would have died a lot faster. Then we get to the big gunfight. Shotguns and pistols are all being applied. We see all the same guns as before, with the addition of a wooden stocked 870.  Nother remarkable.  But the most interesting thing we see, is the one handed gun handling. That's not bad. In fact, this is the only reason one should even bother with this movie at all. You see different techniques on how to change mags in different situations. Kneeling, standing... Pretty good work that.

Then we see Caan empty his revolver. He opens the cylinder and lets the gun point up. This allows the empties to fall out. However he didn't give the ejector a slap downward and one cartridge hangs in there. This is a tactical error, but luckily for Caan the fight is over so it's not important, just something to note.

After it's all done, we see the two Villains laying on the ground getting philosophical.  Lame ending.  It would have been better without the narration. 

I'd probably have liked this movie better had the script been cleaned up, the casting redone, and Mann or Rodriguez, or Wimmer directed it. But I'm biased. Even Scott could have spiced it up.