User reviews

Donal Logue ('Gotham') and Gregory Sporleder ("The Rock") are Eddie and Richard, two small-time hustlers and good friends who are tired of being humiliated in life. Yet it happens again when they fall prey to a trap. They then arm themselves and go back looking for some revenge. But they get in over their heads when they also snatch up some cocaine belonging to mob boss Horace Burke (Paul Sorvino, "GoodFellas").

Despite the familiarity of the scenario and the plot (by Australian actor / writer Lachy Hulme ("The Matrix Revolutions")), Canadian director Kari Skogland ('The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'), injects it with enough vitality and hard-hitting violence to make it watchable enough. (And yet, despite all the gunfire throughout, the film is not as gory as one might expect.). It also helps that this does have a highly capable cast, also including Callum Keith Rennie ('Californication') as the sad-eyed Mamet, Max Perlich ("Drugstore Cowboy") as the gun runner, and Joseph Griffin ('Ready or Not') as Burkes' thuggish son. Admittedly, Sorvino could play his kind of role in his sleep by this point, but he's solid as always, and does manage to play Burke with some light-hearted humor. Rennie is definitely the standout. Janet Kidder ("Bride of Chucky") makes her feature film debut here in the small role of Crystal; in real life she's the niece of the late Margot Kidder.

The effective opening does nicely set up the characters of Eddie and Richard immediately, and it does rate as more interesting than the balance of the story. But overall, this is a decent example of violent crime fiction, provided that the prospective viewer can handle a LOT of profanity. The heartfelt friendship between Eddie and Richard does give this little film some poignancy.

Co-executive produced by Antony I. Ginnane, the Australian genre veteran whom fans of "Ozploitation" have referred to as the "Roger Corman of Australia".

Six out of 10.

Men With Guns opens with two twenty-something guys sitting around discussing the times in their life when they were humiliated. Gregory Sporleder, Lucas, relates the time when he was forced to hold a guys coat every gym class or risk getting beaten up. Donal Logue, as Eddie, listens intensely, "I thought that was your coat... why didn't you tell me? Ah man, I got your back! You know that!"

This powerful opening stands out more than anything else that happens in this film. It concerns two friends, Eddie and Lucas, who go out to a farm to retrieve some money for a local club owner. When they arrive, they are brutally attacked by a group of thugs.

The incident doesn't sit well with Eddie and Lucas. They decide to put a scare into the men who attacked them. They manage to recruit one of their friends, Mamet, played by Callum Keith Rennie. Mamet is a well meaning sort but his mind-set appears suspended somewhere out above the clouds.

The revenge plan goes horribly awry. Eddie and Lucas find themselves sitting in a room with three corpses and a whole lot of money and cocaine. At this point the film seems to get lost. It really doesn't know what to do or where to go. We watch as our three simpleton heroes party away the cocaine and money.

A problem arises when it becomes evident that the cocaine and money actually belong to a local mob boss played by Paul Sorvino. Sorvino and his laughable cronies begin a man-hunt for the three.

Without trying to give anything away, the film becomes a little tedious and manages to immerse itself in a bloodbath. A needless one.

Where the film gets lost in its story it finds solace in its actors and characters. Callum Keith Rennie, a truly amazing Canadian actor, offers a haunting performance as a man whose subtle eccentricities begin to give light to his absolute insanity. Also watch for Easy Gary played by Max Perlich. His character is one of the most interesting that I've seen in a film in a long time.

The basic plotline could apply to hundreds of movies: a couple of regular guys get mixed up in the world of drug dealers and guns, to their peril. There are only so many twists and turns a screenwriter or director can throw into such a story, so this isn't exactly the kind of film that will change the world. But the performances are excellent (especially Callum Keith Rennie, playing the sad, sweet, tragic mental case so well you can practically see the thoughts in his sleepy eyes), the script and art direction are just fine, and the overall level of suspense is perfect. The viewer will know his own tolerance for violence and profanity--there's quite a bit of both, but not so much that I found them distracting. Plenty of shots are fired, but no one is turned into bullet hamburger like you see in some movies. All in all, a good entry in the B-movie shoot-em-up crime genre, and especially watch out for CKR.

Director Kari Skogland has created a gem in Men with Guns.

Starring Donal Logue who was also in the classic flick, And the Band Played On 1993 and the classic television series Vikings 2013-2018 and Sons of Anarchy 2008-2014.

Also starring Gregory Sporleder who has also been in other classic flicks, The Crazies 2010, Black Hawk Down 2001, The Rock 1996 and another classic crime flick, True Romance 1993.

Also starring Callum Keith Rennie who has also been in other classic flicks, The Butterfly Effect 2004, eXistenZ 1999 and Timecop 1994.

Also starring Paul Sorvino who has also been in other classic flicks, Romeo + Juliet 1996, Nixon 1995, Goodfellas 1990 and The Panic in Needle Park 1971.

Also starring Max Perlich who has also been in other classic flicks, Georgia 1995, Cliffhanger 1993, Rush 1991 and Drugstore Cowboy 1989.

I enjoyed the violence, sex, drug scenes and cinematography.

If you enjoyed this as much as I did then check out other classic crime flicks, A Dangerous Man 2009, Instinct to Kill 2009, Judgement Night 1993, Marked for Death 1990, Rampage 2009, Under the Gun 1995, Wrong Turn at Tahoe 2009, Badlands 1973, Bitch Slap 2009, Blood Simple 1984, Blue Velvet 1986, Deadbeat at Dawn 1988, Dressed to Kill 1980, Falling Down 1993, Fast Money 1996, Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! 1965, The Getaway 1994, Hard Target 1993, Hero Wanted 2008, A History of Violence 2005, The Honeymoon Killers 1969, The Last Boy Scout 1991, The Lost 2006, Made Men 1999, Mission: Impossible III 2006, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol 2011, No Way Home 1996, A Perfect Getaway 2009, Pressure 2002, Rage 1995, Run 1991, Sabotage 1996, Shoot 'Em Up 2007, Sin City 2005, Rumble in the Bronx 1995, The Take 2007, Thursday 1998, True Lies 1994, Walking Tall 1973, The Shearer's Breakfast 2001, Wild at Heart 1990, The Package 2013, The Purge: Anarchy 2014, Marine 4: Moving Target 2015, Rushlights 2013, Killing Salazar 2016, Gone Baby Gone 2007, Mr. Majestyk 1974, 68 Kill 2017, Detour 2016, Barton Fink 1991, The Trial 1962, The Tournament 2009, Very Bad Things 1998, Amateur 1994, The Game 1997, 13 Tzameti 2005, Mission: Impossible - Fallout 2018, Fled 1996, Free Fire 2016, The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman 2013, Small Town Crime 2017, The Debt Collector 2018, Small Crimes 2017, U Turn 1997, Kill Me Again 1989, Red Rock West 1993, Out of Sight 1998, A Simple Favour 2018 and Zero Tolerance 1994.