The buddy cop formula is a tried-and-true staple of Hollywood, and while it’s been done countless times with countless pairings, every once in a while a particular duo manages to put just enough of their own stamp on it to make it feel fresh. Such is the case with 2 Guns, helmed by Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur and based on a series of graphic novels by Stephen Grant.
Denzel Washington stars as Bobby Beans, a cool customer with gold teeth and a seemingly endless collection of stylish fedoras who pals around with Michael Stigman (Mark Wahlberg), a charming, cocky criminal with a weakness for cute waitresses. After Mexican drug lord Papi Greco (Edward James Olmos) fails to uphold his end of an exchange, Bobby and Stig find themselves planning to take down a small-town bank where the kingpin stores his cash.
Complications quickly arise: first, the bank turns out to be housing much more than the expected $3 million – about$40 million extra, to be exact. Even worse, Bobby Beans is actually undercover DEA agent Bobby Trench, and while Stig’s name may not be any different, he turns out to be working a covert op for US Navy Intelligence, and his failure to complete his mission by taking Bobby out of the equation puts him at odds with his commanding officer (James Marsden).
Throw in the questionable loyalty of Bobby’s old flame (Paula Patton) and a crooked CIA agent (Bill Paxton) who wants his cash back, and we’re left with a recipe for disaster. Nearly every character seems to be harboring some kind of secret that will spell trouble for our two heroes, and there are so many double-crosses and triple-crosses during the third act that it’s difficult to blame the audience if they begin to lose track of the plot’s convoluted twists and turns.
But honestly, it doesn’t really matter – Wahlberg and Denzel have brilliant comedic chemistry, and no matter who (or what) happens to be getting shot at or blown up, every dialogue exchange crackles with hilarity. 2 Guns would have been a decent film with any other cast, but it’s elevated to greatness by the genius pairing of its two stars, and might be the most pleasantly surprising flick of the summer.