The Way of the Gun

Plot synopsis:
Parker and Longbaugh are a pair of low-level petty criminals, living off the grid and funding their existence through unconventional and often illegal means. Wanting to move past petty crime, they vow to get the proverbial "big score." While at a sperm donation clinic, the pair overhear a telephone conversation detailing a $1,000,000 payment to a surrogate mother for bearing the child of money launderer Hale Chidduck. Parker and Longbaugh resolve to kidnap the surrogate, Robin, but their attempt escalates into a shootout with her bodyguards, Jeffers and Obecks. The kidnappers are able to elude the bodyguards, who are arrested.
Jeffers and Obecks are bailed out and returned to Chidduck by his right-hand man Joe Sarno. As Sarno begins coordinating Robin's rescue, Longbaugh contacts her gynecologist, Dr. Allen Painter, and orders him to a truck stop to examine Robin. After the examination, Painter returns to Chidduck, and it is revealed that the doctor is Chidduck's son. It is also revealed that Jeffers and Chidduck's wife are romantically involved.
Longbaugh calls from a motel south of the Mexican border and demands a $15 million ransom. Jeffers and Obecks, tempted by the money, begin forming a plan to save the child and keep the money. As Longbaugh hangs up the telephone outside the motel, he is approached by Sarno, who offers to pay $1 million if they surrender Robin and simply walk away. Longbaugh declines the offer and returns to his room, where Parker and Robin are playing cards. Sarno then returns to Chidduck's home to plan the next step.
Jeffers comes to realize that Robin is Sarno's daughter. Jeffers, Obecks, and Painter leave to meet with the kidnappers, while Sarno departs separately with the ransom. At the motel, Parker is having second thoughts. As he confers with Longbaugh outside the motel room, Robin takes the opportunity to seize a shotgun and barricade herself inside.
As sirens are heard in the distance, Parker and Longbaugh hastily escape, and Robin emerges just as Mexican police arrive, followed by Jeffers, Obecks, and Painter. As Painter and the bodyguards try to persuade Robin to leave with them, the officers pull their guns and order everybody onto the ground. Parker and Longbaugh open fire from a nearby hilltop, and the shootout leaves the two officers dead and Obecks wounded. Jeffers shoves Painter and Robin into his car and drives off.
Parker and Longbaugh torture Obecks to learn Robin's location, while Jeffers confines Robin in a room in a Mexican brothel. Jeffers forces Painter to perform a Caesarean section to retrieve the baby, despite Robin's confession that the child is hers and Painter's and is not Chidduck's. Meanwhile, the heavily armed Parker and Longbaugh infiltrate the brothel. The ensuing gunfight, which leaves Parker wounded, turns into another standoff, until Painter shoots Jeffers. Outside, Sarno arrives with a group of men and the ransom, which they stack in the courtyard. Parker wants to kidnap Robin and Painter again, but Longbaugh, guilt-ridden after seeing her condition, responds: "She's had enough". Despite realizing that the money is bait, Parker and Longbaugh charge headlong into an ambush.
All of Sarno's men are killed in the ensuing firefight. However, Sarno manages to shoot and cripple the already wounded Parker and Longbaugh, and then calls for an ambulance. Painter emerges with Robin and the baby. Lying in a pool of blood, Parker and Longbaugh call out to Sarno, informing him that the baby is in fact Robin and Painter's, and thus Sarno's grandson. Parker wonders aloud if this fact will influence Sarno to let them keep the child. Robin and the baby are then taken away in the ambulance with Painter, Sarno and the money, leaving Parker and Longbaugh to die. Days later, Chidduck's wife reveals that she is pregnant.

Tags: comedy, suspenseful, neo noir, murder, cult, violence, revenge

Review:
THE WAY OF THE GUN (2000) ***1/2 Ryan Phillippe, Benicio del Toro, Juliette Lewis, James Caan, Taye Diggs, Nicky Katt, Scott Wilson, Kristin Lehmann, Geoffrey Lewis, Sarah Silverman.Christopher McQuarrie makes his directing debut in a big way with an obvious nod to Sam Peckinpaugh with his screenplay about two ne'er do well criminals (Phillippe and del Toro, both exemplary) who decide to make a mark for themselves by kidnapping a very pregnant surrogate mother (Lewis) to a wealthy businessman (Wilson) that eventually pans out to be a big mistake in a tangled web involving the woman's bodyguards (Diggs and Katt) and the bagman friend of the rich man (Caan in one fine, low-key performance of nuanced dread).
Although I know I am in the extreme minority "Way of the Gun is a much more complete film than Usual Suspects it is a metaphor for the careless way we lead our lives only realizing that the one most innocent and beautiful thing is life it self.
What I fail to understand is why if "The Usual Suspects" was so incredibly popular (because it was so freakin' good), "The Way of the Gun" gets stepped on, both at the box office upon its initial release, and in various, snarky IMDb user comments.This movie isn't just good.
and when a filmmaker is making a smart film about amoral, gun-toting outlaws, the people who come to see that sort of movie are going to feel confused and angry.
McQuarrie may be a victim of his own success, because it was released in the aftermath of "The Usual Suspects," but if it built up an underground following like "The Killer," it would be on the shelf of must-haves next to John Woo, Guy Ritchie and any other art film your parents wouldn't approve of.Every character has his own motive, has his own backstory, and not all are necessarily spelled out for you.
But I think comparing that movie to 'The Way Of The Gun' (Christopher McQuarrie wrote both and directs this in an impressive debut) is unproductive and misguided.
Something that has more in common with Sam Peckinpah than the plethora of shallow post-Tarantino rip-offs Hollywood has foisted on us in recent years.The basic premise is fairly straightforward - two losers "Parker" (A surprisingly effective Ryan Phillipe in easily his best role to date) and "Longbaugh" (the always excellent Benicio Del Toro), cook up a half baked scheme to kidnap a surrogate mother (Juliette Lewis - 'Cape Fear', 'Kalifornia') and hold her for ransom.
Little do they realize that she is carrying a child for Chidduck,  a Mob money launderer (veteran character actor Scott Wilson - 'In Cold Blood', 'The Ninth Configuration') who has some nasty associates, and is reluctant to pay up.The guys soon find themselves embroiled in a chinese puzzle of relationships including ruthless bodyguards Jeffers (Taye Digs - 'Go') and Obecks (Nicky Katt - 'SubUrbia', 'The Limey'), and Chidduck's bagman and troubleshooter, the complex Sarno (the legendary James Caan - 'The Godfather', 'Thief'), and Sarno's colleague Abner (frequent Clint Eastwood sidekick, and Juliet's real life father, Geoffrey Lewis).
My only warning is that if you're included in the faint of heart then this probably is one to avoid as this was definitely a dab of the good OL' ultra-violence!Final Say:Movies: Would've been enjoyable to see it there.DVD Purchase: Based on how low it's currently priced I probably won't be able to help myself.Rental: Come on, you know you want to!!!.
now usually the title is a cryptic clue, but in this case--it says it all.if you are wondering why devote a film exclusively to gun-play, then ask yourself why devote a summer movie solely to computer special effects.i know most of you are guilty of seeing one of the hot season flicks because your friends said it looked awesome.
James Caan with his hardened bagman, Juliet Lewis with her devious suragate mother, Taye Diggs with his ambitious bodyguard, and Ryan Phillipe with his naive criminal all thrust together with Del Toro make for an ambitious film caring more for the people then for the situation they are in, but hey, with so many films loaded with high concept and devoid of endearing characters, this is what I needed..
There are no sympathetic characters in this movie, or to quote the film makers, "No hookers with a heart of gold"That just makes it feel a lot more like we are seeing real criminals.
It tells of two small time crooks, played by Ryan Phillippe and Benicio Del Toro, who get entangled in a game of crooks versus crooks when they try to pull of a kidnapping.Dreaming of bigger things in life, but regardless of the method used to achieve their dreams of riches, they overhear a conversation at a sperm bank clinic (one of the most happening dialogues in the movie happens there) about a surrogate mother bearing the child of some rich family.
Thrown into the mix is veteran James Caan, as a bag-man extraordinaire, having been so long in the business because of his experience in staying alive.Del Toro and Phillippe exude an excellent bond of camaraderie between their characters - they trust nobody except for themselves, while I thought Juliette Lewis was terrific in her role as the very pregnant mother caught between both sides, and yet bringing out strength as she fights for her child's and her own survival, taking her interests in her own hands.It's a good mix of action and workout for your brain as you figure out the relationships between the characters as the narrative moves along.
Ryan Philipe and Benecio del Toro do a magnificent job of portraying two insane outlaws.The opening of this movie is amazing and will set you in the mood for the rest of this insane movie.When you are a gun buff like myself you know what a good shoot em up movie is.
Benicio del Toro(The Usual Suspects) and Ryan Philippe(Playing by Heart, Cruel Intentions) star in this dark movie about money and consequences and repercussions that come along with the plan to acquire it.
The movie gets a little slow in the middle but the action scenes in the beginning and the end are great.
I usually wait until the movies I want to see come out on video, (I watch all of SCOTT WILSON'S movies and was so glad he was in this movie or else I might have missed this one), but the best thing I did yesterday was to take myself off to the cinema and enjoy a very clever, funny and different film.
Multiple viewings definitely needed.The movie that ultimately comes to mind, my mind anyway, when trying to find anything to compare this with is not Pulp Fiction (The style is completely different, I never read a review by Ebert, but I know I'll never be able to take him seriously again if he said that!) or any of the other movies that have already been mentioned, but 'Ronin'.This movie, like Ronin, portrays criminals and bodyguards in such a professionalistic way as never done before.
Some have compared the film to 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' (the narrator gives himself and his accomplice the real-life surnames of the outlaws), but 'The Wild Bunch' is as good a starting point as any - the alternation of thunderous gunfights with an unearthly calm; the dead-end masculinity; the ritual finale (when Parker jumps into the dry fountain full of broken beer bottles - ouch!); the rare feel for landscape and architecture.
But, lukcily, some of them are overshadowed by a better than average script and very credible actors: Ryan Phillipe and Benicio Del Torro make a good duo, Juliette Lewis is slutty yet charming in a pregnant role and most notably in one of his best roles, James Caan as a aging hitman who will get villain fans cheering.
Juliette Lewis, as the kidnap victim Robin, is her usual self - she's good if you like her in any other movie she played (somewhat shy, lacking self confidence, etc.).
All the rest are good and have the right level of the indefinable `cool' that the film requires.What I liked here was how Director/Writer Christopher McQuarrie doesn't insult his audience by having everything explained in big bright neon lights.
"The Way of the Gun" is the latest action film that must be taken seriously.There are two main elements that make all of the movies above seem so real.
I won't give any key parts of the film away but I'd like to say this (and this won't come as a surprise to any avid movie fan or for people in their late teens and up) but this movie like tragically many was misadvertised.And because of this, I believe this is the reason the movie hasn't done as successful as it deserves to do, after all I personally found it to be an engrossing story with all sorts of plot twists, strategizing, backstabbing, doublecrossing, set-ups, presenting knowledge and wisdom of the life of a bagman on top of the well choreographed shoot-outs.
Unlike the majority of people, I did not like "The Usual Suspects."  But "The Way of the Gun" might well be titled "The Way to make a GREAT Movie."A quick point of interest: the city line shot at the beginning of the film is Albuquerque,NM my home town.
This movie is full of neat little tricks that as I watched I kept thinking, "thats a cool idea, I gotta remember that if I am ever in a gunfight."  This movie keeps you interested every step of the way, the gun battles are numerous but always new, and the action flows smoothly from one scene to the next at fast pace.
Ryan Phillippe & the always excellent Benicio Del Toro are dynamite as two low-life career criminals who kidnap pregnant surrogate Juliette Lewis and hold her hostage expecting the baby's wealthy (and decidedly unpleasant)parents to pony up a $15 million dollar ransom.
I am not one of those sort of people who will write a review that says 'The Greatest Movie I've Ever Seen (Until The Next One Of Course)' and I shan't pretend that the film doesn't have holes in it: characters such as the 'Bag man' played by Juliet Lewis' real life father are somewhat underdeveloped and the editing is occasionally erratic.
also acting the book-ending narrator of the piece, ryan philippe willfully debunks his movie star career trajectory by choosing to play his character and, in the process, delivers what could be some awkward dialogue & material flawlessly.it's too bad so many people overlooked this film because i got the sense of it being carefully crafted, yet not forced.
'The Way of the Gun,' writer and director Christopher (The Usual Suspects) McQuarrie's crime-heist thriller unfortunately may never be accepted as a true classic for a number of reasons.It was such a superior film that it didn't have any worthy competitors, it was way too intellectual for mainstream audiences and the classics it was reminiscent of were the low-key off-mainstream B-movies no one without an outstanding knowledge of film would know of.
Simply, this film is here to be appreciated by whoever will take a chance on it and those lucky few will strike gold.Two mismatched petty crooks - Mr Parker and Mr Longbaugh - live life on the road doing what they have to do to survive on the bare necessities but as Mr Parker states at the beginning of the film' "need is the ultimate monkey." Tired of finding ways to make easy money to provide for their needs, they happen upon a pregnant woman in a small town who seems to be the surrogate mother for a very wealthy man and his wife and decide it's about time they pulled off one most daring plan which would set them up for a long time.Staging a kidnapping and coming face to face with the surrogate mother's bodyguards, the plot explodes forth like a river through a bursting dam and suddenly the two petty crooks find themselves in over their heads as the expectant father turns out to be one of America's most powerful and dangerous crime kingpins.Enter Joe Sarno (Caan), a veteran "Bag Man" who has served the kingpin all his life, helping to protect his business and his finances.
An old survivor who is as wise as he is guilty and who is intent on doing everything within his power to get the mother and her baby back with no collateral damage, with not a dollar less.As Sarno sets his sights on the two crooks and assesses the increasingly taut situation, the realisation that it could either be the making or complete destruction of everyone involved dawns over each single player involved and so begins a race against time as numerous secret agendas begin to rear their ugly heads.McQuarrie's film has everything audiences between the ages of 18 to 60 would appreciate; I say that because 'Way of the Gun' is not only reminiscent of violent '70's modern-day western crime thrillers, it features the kind of characters associated with those old classics and even features two of the era's most familiar faces, James Caan and Jeffrey Lewis to jog the memory.It is abusively funny and its general sense of humour is sly, if not just grim.
The scenes between Longbaugh and Sarno are ingeniously fraught with charismatic cool and tangible tension and intimidation.And Ryan Phillipe admirably man-handling an assumed case of severe miscasting as his sensitive and misunderstood partner in crime; all his teenage dramas and tacky horror film roles are gladly thrown aside as he becomes a boy grown up too fast and clearly damaged by the things Parker has seen and done in his short and miserable life.Some very tense action scenes are executed finely and purvey a realistic sense of danger.
"It's a motive with a universal adaptor!" Because of 'Way of the Gun's almost impenetrable plot, its originality, wisdom and fast paced, hard hitting action, you will appreciate this film more and more every time you watch it.
But in the case of a special few like 'Millers Crossing' or 'Glengarry Glen Ross', these movies are truly amongst the leaders and very best in their field, to the point that as soon as the credits roll, you wonder how the hell you've never watched this before or why it didn't make greater box office or claim any major awards.The Way of the Gun is like the bastard child of a Western and a Gangster flick, holding many of the attributes of both genres and belonging to neither in whole.
It is all done with wit and without clichés such as Slow-Motion or Shaky-Cam.It is Dialog Driven fueled by Ultra-Violence along a road filled with unappealing Characters, Backstabbers, and Slimy/Greedy Money Men. The most sympathetic is a Bag Man/Cleaner, played with impassioned intensity by James Caan ("You can assume one thing about a broken down Old Man...He's a survivor.").Also the Audience may feel compassion for Juliette Lewis who pulls out the stops here as an about to give Birth pregnant Woman that is central to the Plot.
A complex morally ambiguous movie about two drifters and their suicidal desire for easy money.Ryan Philippe and Benicio Del Toro play the characters nicknamed by Philippe's opening narration as Mr. Parker and Mr. Longbaugh (reference noted).
It seems strange that Chris McQuarrie hasn't done more since the usual suspect, and this his directorial debut, seeing as the latter was a fantastic film, and way of the gun was even better.The film follows the quick fire lives of Parker and Longbaugh who are looking for a big break, and by chance one presents themselves to it.
Great music, believable characters, good scenery, lots of understated acting...and violence, lots of it...lots and lots of wonderful violence.Del Toro makes his best film yet, Caan gets a decent movie to add to the Godfather, Juliet Lewis overeggs it as usual but her dad (Geoffrey) is good, very good...and the rat pack of olden hired guns at the end don't make a bad move.I hope Way of the Gun didn't win any stupid Oscars since that would be an insult to one of the few complete movies out there.This movie should be compulsory for those attending Film School....nuff said!.
After the huge success of the movie "The Usual Suspects", which our director wrote, I'd say that he is following in his own footsteps with another great film.Who else cringed at the scene where Phillipe jumped into the empty fountain full of broken beer bottles?
Way of the Gun is a unique film to begin from scene 1 but that's what makes it such a good movie.
Academy Award winner Benicio Del Toro and Ryan Phillippe play Longbaugh and Parker, Juliette Lewis plays the pregnant Robin, Taye Diggs and Nicky Katt are the bodyguards, Jeffers and Obecks, and Geoffery Lewis and James Caan portray the bagmen, Abner and Joe.The story, also written by McQuarrie is complex and demands your utmost attention.
Get ready...First off, what I love about this movie.I love all of the actors especially Phillippe and Del Toro who turn in excellent performances as our two anti-hero protagonists, and of course, James Caan is the usual cool as ice character he normally plays.
Our 'heroes', Parker and Longbaugh simply have no desire to live and go for an all or nothing heist which goes terribly wrong (I love the line where Del Toro tells James Caan as they are having coffee that 'I don't think this is a brains sort of operation'), but they end up being, ironically, the most 'good' of all of the other characters (everyone is some sort of criminal or an up-to-no-gooder).
Way of the Gun is a great action / crime movie; the acting and writing were first rate, and the shootouts are among the best I've seen, up there with Heat and the Matrix.