2 Guns is the type of movie that will get audiences interested from the start because it is topbilled by two Hollywood A-listers — action king Mark Wahlberg and Academy Award winner Denzel Washington. From the trailer alone, there is no question that this movie would be a lot of fun and it does not disappoint. I left the cinema well and truly entertained.

Bobby Trench (Washington) is an undercover DEA agent and Michael ‘Stig’ Stigman (Wahlberg) is an undercover Naval officer  who, oblivious to each other’s real identity,  team up to rob the  bank in the hopes of finding evidence against big time crime lord ‘Papi’ Greco for different reasons. But when the heist succeeds, they are surprised that their haul is not at all what they expected. Now, they are the subject of a ruthless manhunt because of the staggering amount of money they stole from the vault, as well as the conspiracy they have uncovered.

The winning formula for this movie is really teaming up Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg. Together, this unlikely pair work so seamlessly together, playing characters that are polar opposites of each other yet share a rapport that needs no great dialogue to communicate itself to the audience. Denzel was calm and cool as the experienced undercover agent, unflappable even in the most dangerous circumstances while Mark was an unorthodox soldier, spouting out wisecracks like they were bullets. And like the marksman he was playing in the movie, they landed their target every single time without fail. While the comedic timing was all Mark’s, I would like to credit Blake Masters’ (Brotherhood, Law and Order LA) script because the dialogue and the banter was obviously bread and butter of the film.

Compared to other blockbuster movies of the same genre, 2 Guns doesn’t really boast of much in terms of originality, but what it can credit itself for is its ability not to overdo the explosions and the action scenes, and pacing it in a relaxed way that caters to all types of audiences. In short, it delivered on all the requisites of a formulaic action movie —  hot chick in the form of Paula Patton (check), annoying villain in the form of Bill Paxton (check), yet another villain, suave and good looking and not quite as annoying in the form of James Marsden (check), explosions (check), some excellent sniper action (check), brawls (check) and comedy (check) so in the end, there is nothing much to complain about.

All in all, while 2 Guns may well have started off in the pattern of Mel Gibson and Danny Glover’s Lethal Weapon but unlike LW, it does not have mileage to make 2 Guns into a franchise. As a one off, director Baltasar Komakur (who also directed Mark Wahlberg’s Contraband in 2012) managed to deliver a great popcorn movie to hang out with buddies to and simply enjoy. Well worth the time and the money.