Frank Markland
Christopher Lambert and Mario Van Peebles play two bumbling tough guys who go up against a mobster who Lambert stole money from, while Lambert and Van Peebles escape the bullets fired at them, a conspiracy is abound and the usual double-crosses take place in this dull movie which is so bland I can't even come up with a clever opener for my summary. Lambert has an interesting screen presence in his roles that almost always makes him more likable than most other B. stars, however his style is not a style that works with comedy. If you do not believe you can go and immerse yourself in the movie "Why Me?" (An appropriate title for the hapless audience) and see what I mean, Gunmen is painfully trite with dialog so tired and action so uninspired you just sit and watch in darkness as you hear your eyes glaze over and freeze in the sub zero temperature the entertainment registers in. Gunmen is an awful movie, so painfully obnoxious and obvious in it's set up that one would prefer the pairing of Lambert and Van Peebles only slightly over Chuck Norris and Louis Gossett Jr in Firewalker. Strangely this movie feels a lot like that 1986 dud. As reported by others watching Patrick Stewart swear is funny but aside from that, do you really want to see a movie that feels like a rejected TV pilot? * out of'4-(Bad)
Frank Dudley Berry, Jr.
I happened to see the beginning of this picture because TIVO switched it on while I was otherwise occupied. The movie begins with a graphic and utterly repulsive scene of a woman being buried alive. The camera shows the hysterical victim being shoved into a coffin, the lid nailed down, and the coffin interred, while various bad guys look on. Her screams resound and then fade as the dirt covers the coffin. This absolutely nauseating scene is included for no other purpose than to provide a little thrill to voyeuristic sadists. It is inexcusable that an actor of Patrick Stewart's stature lent his name to a movie of this pandering quality. I have actually written to his agent about it.
midflinx007
It is a shame Gunmen didn't get fair treatment when it was brought to DVD. Originally shot in 2.35:1 widescreen, the DVD and obviously, the video are only available in 1.33:1 full TV screen format. Almost half the picture is missing, and it shows. Even ignoring the lush scenery cut off, too often the characters' faces are missing from the frame. Even worse is that the DVD transfer is rotten. It may have been from a S-VHS master from what it looks like. It is full of film grain which compresses awfully on DVDs, making the entire movie look muddy.This is a terrible shame because Gunmen is a fun, lightweight flick of two guys, one good, the other bad, forced to work together against a common enemy. There are many funny one liners, and the action scenes are pretty good, though low budget. Denis Leary is always fun to watch when he's angry or evil, and he's almost always both in Gunmen.
Keith Metcalfe (grimjack-2)
This film is certainly uneven, and borrows from obvious Sergio Leone westerns, but you should find it entertaining. Worth seeing, if for no other reason, to see Patrick Stewart playing a crippled south american druglord who buries alive his disloyal wife in his opening scene. Another scene that will have you shaking your head in disbelief is when two main characters shoot each other in the leg in an attempt at humor.
AD
