Gunmen

Plot synopsis:
Wheelchair-bound drug baron Peter Loomis (Patrick Stewart) has his $400 million drug fortune stolen in South America by his errand boy Carlos, who stashed the fortune on an undisclosed boat in an undisclosed harbor. Loomis sends ruthless killer Armor O'Malley (Denis Leary) to find the boat and recover the money—he and sidekick Marie (Brenda Bakke) kill Carlos before they can get the name and location of the boat, but they learn that Carlos's brother Dani (Christopher Lambert) knows where it is, and set out to find him.
Dani is sprung from a South American prison by Cole Parker (Mario Van Peebles), a bounty hunter working for the DEA who is bent on taking down Loomis—Cole knows the name of the boat, Dani knows the location, and both men want the money for their own reasons. Complicating matters is a mole in the DEA who feeds intel to O'Malley about the heroes' movements. Alone and outnumbered, Cole and Dani are forced into a reluctant alliance as they quest for the 400 million dollar boat, with O'Malley and his men chasing them every step of the way.
Loomis quickly realizes that O'Malley wants the fortune for himself and tries to have him and his men assassinated, but the attempt fails. O'Malley returns to Loomis's estate and makes it clear that he now wears the pants in their relationship: without the $400 million, Loomis can't pay his soldiers, and O'Malley will get his hands on the money before the stay-at-home cripple does. Loomis is killed and O'Malley renews the chase with a small army at his disposal.
After numerous betrayals on both sides of the conflict, the chase ends at a Puerto Vallarta harbor, and a yacht called the "Matador" according to Cole. Dani and Cole shoot it out with O'Malley's soldiers and leave the boat a flaming wreck (and Dani beside himself at the loss of the money). But Cole reveals he lied about the boat name to mislead and eliminate O'Malley: the fortune was actually stashed on a rickety old fishing boat called the "Gunmen." The heroes agree to split the money and sail into the sunset.

Tags: comedy, murder, violence

Review:
GUNMEN is a brilliant action movie, and of course very funny.
As with JUDGMENT NIGHT, he excels as a wonderfully nasty bad guy.As for our leads, Mario Van Peebles and Christopher Lambert work brilliantly together as they joke and shoot on the way to find some laundered drug money.
I don't know what everyone's problem with Lambert is because he's been brilliant in every film I've seen him in.
If you've read any of my other movie reviews, you'll know by now that i'm a massive Christopher Lambert fan.
Gunmen see's Lambert team up with Mario Van Peebles who also stars in Highlander 3 with Lambert, in the same year.
But the two of them don't exactly get on together, they are like two little kids argueing.For a low budget movie it's pretty good.
I would say it was one of Lamberts better movies but not as good as Highlander and Fortress.If you like explosive action and guns galore, this is the one for you.Silly in parts but good fun.I rated it 7/10.
This has it all - guns, comedy, a stupid plot, senseless violence, explosions, drug dealers, Denis Leary, cleavage, and none of that stupid emotional baggage most films seem to adopt at some point - what more could a guy want?
Great B-grade performances from some top name actors like Denis Leary, Patrick Stewart, Christopher Lambert and Mario Van Peebles.
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..
Cole Parker (Mario Van Peebles), a DEA Agent is on a south American mission of justice and revenge.
In a Cat and Mouse game, Cole and the smuggler are forced to help each other to find the missing fortune trying to avoid, O'Malley and his men.This is an fun, action-packed thriller with an fun sense of humor.
The film is weird and uneven but it is a fun movie to watch.
Christopher Lambert and Mario Van Peebles star in this run of the mill action tale of a drug dealers lost millions stowed away on a boat.
This leads to the unlikely teaming of a small time crook and an undercover DEA Agent in a race against the sadistic bad guy Dennis Leary.Van Peebles and Lambert work pretty well as a double act and Leary is over the top but acceptable as the bad guy, but the problem with this movie is that its so predictable.
Patrick Stewart pops up as a gangster overlord but his character seems pointless more of a time filler than a significant plot element.Basically its an OK but nothing special piece of action cinema, the same thing you've seen done better 100 times before 5/10..
A generically hip, but brutal offbeat comedy action joint that moves at a breakneck pace and offers a lot time for Denis Leary to do his ruthlessly lip-smacking viper bad-guy shtick (and constantly calling those who work for him "morons")  and lets not forget Patrick Stewart in somewhat of an unconventional role as a crippled, cold-blooded South American drug lord.
Anyhow Mario Van Pebbles finds himself teaming up with Christopher Lambert (who both shares a good chemistry) on the hunt for $400 million dollars of stolen drug money stole away on a boat with Leary on their trail that was hired by Stewart.A very enjoyable, if inflamed b-grade action buddy fare that's held together by a vacant on-the-run narrative laced with self-irony and the screenplay was written by Stephen Sommers (known for "The Mummy" blockbusters).
This is a very light, entertaining movie for its B budget action format.
Van Peebles and Lambert have good chemistry on the screen though it was not as easily appreciated in the Highlander movie.I recommend it for light-hearted action fans if only to catch the segment towards the end where they "trade" First-Aid kit back and forth.
Modern remake of Sergio Leone's "The good,the bad and the ugly".
"Gunmen" was loosely based upon Sergio Leone's "The good, the bad and the ugly".
In "Gunmen", Mario Van Peeples plays a bounty hunter (the good), Dennis Leary plays a cutthroat (the bad) and Christopher Lambert plays a thief (the ugly).
The relationship between Van Peeples and Lambert in "Gunmen" is similar to Eastwood and Wallach's partnership in "The good, the bad and the ugly".2.
In "The good, the bad and the ugly", Eastwood and Wallach are forced to work together to find the treasure because Wallach knows the name of the cemetery and Eastwood knows the name of the grave in which the treasure is buried.
Lambert knows where his brother hid the boat with 400 millions dollars aboard and Van Peeples knows its name.3.
Finally, there are many scenes in "Gunmen" similar to the ones in "The good, the bad and the ugly" like the scene where Lambert is forced to reveal where the boat is to Leary (Wallach is beaten up and reveals the name of the cemetery to Van Cleef) and the scene at the end when Van Peeples makes Lambert believe he'll get rid of him to keep the treasure (Eastwood hangs Wallach but cuts him loose and shares the treasure).With all these resemblances, it makes no doubt that "Gunmen" is a remake of "The good, the bad and the ugly".
Considering this movie was made with a very low budget with terrific cast, I thought "Gunmen" was a cool action/adventure flick.
Mario Van Peeples and Christopher Lambert are great in their roles and Dennis Leary is excellent as the main bad guy.
Patrick Steward also gives a very believable performance as the drug dealer.Overall, "Gunmen" is a fun modern day remake of Sergio Leone's epic western.
Mario Van Peebles career path has been pretty similar since 'Heartbreak Ridge' though he seems to have done all right recently appearing in Ali. Anyway Gunmen' co-stars the two the same year they appeared together in Highlander 3.
The basic plot of this South American actioner is that Dani Servigo (Lambert) is the only one who knows the name of harbour where a boat with 400 million dollars of drug money onboard is moored.
Cole Parker (Van Peebles) is the only one who knows the boat's name.
Together they're trying to get there before Loomis (Patrick Stewart), the drug lord the money belongs to and Armor O'Malley, his right hand man (Dennis Leary) who's starting to strain at the leash.Why am I recommending this film?
What makes it great to watch them is Lambert and Van Peebles aren't afraid to go for it and it's obvious they're bouncing off each other.
An interesting fact to note is that this is an early writing effort from Stephen Sommer, who went on to demonstrate his ability with action pictures with such films as Deep Rising and The Mummy..
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.
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.
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?
Mario Van Peebles is cast as Cole Parker, a DEA agent in Mexico, who busts kooky smuggler Dani Servigo (Christopher Lambert) out of prison.
Because Dani's brother Karl was an associate of drug kingpin Loomis (Patrick Stewart) who absconded with the kingpins' $400 million fortune, and he thinks that Karl may have given Dani information as to the whereabouts of the money.
Meanwhile, Loomis has sent an even worse bad guy, hired gun Armor O'Malley (Denis Leary), after the two of them."Gunmen" was an early screenwriting credit for future director Stephen Sommers, who went on to make big studio efforts like "Deep Rising", "The Mummy" (1999), and "The Mummy Returns".
Deran casts his father, veteran filmmaker Richard Sarafian (best known for "Vanishing Point" himself), in a brief role as Van Peebles' superior.Mostly, this is routine stuff, albeit reasonably funny, action-packed, and very swift (it clocks in at 92 minutes).
Van Peebles is fine, but doesn't have a particularly great character to play.
Deran Sarafian himself has a small role as Bishop."Gunmen" entertains adequately for action-movie fans, with some standout moments along the way, such as a recurring motif of characters being buried alive.Six out of 10..
GUNMEN is another of those buddy-buddy movies that were all the rage in the early '90s after the success of the LETHAL WEAPON films.
The whole reason this movie is entertaining is solely down to the casting of Christopher Lambert and Mario Van Peebles, who have one of the best double acts I've seen in a movie.
There's a fine supporting cast, too, with most performances geared towards the comedic: Denis Leary, as an icy head honcho bad guy; Patrick Stewart, as a crippled crime boss; Kadeem Hardison as the comedy relief pilot; B-movie regular Brenda Bakke as a femme fatale.
Still, in the end this film belongs to Lambert and Peebles.
One of our heroes knows the boatyard the treasure is hidden in, the other the name of the boat.Christopher Lambert and Mario Van Peebles haven't exactly had glittering screen careers, and Denis Leary, the villain, probably enjoyed the peak of his film career in the mid 90s.
Van Peebles and Lambert have a certain chemistry on the screen that needs to be seen to be fully appreciated.The film does go a little too far on the side of dirty in some scenes and stupidity in others.
Patrick Stewart's presence is as ludicrous as his character's arc and demise.In general this is well acted and directed and certainly not a bad movie.
This is not essential film making by any means, but worth tracking down if you like action comedy buddy flicks that borrow the plot from classic westerns..
After watching the original Highlander, I found myself wanting to see a guy I'd never heard of act in some other movies because of the performance he put on in the one I'd seen.
Christopher Lambert isn't what I'd call a great actor, he plays pretty much the same soft spoken character in everything, but for some reason that character tends to be entertaining.
Gunmen was pretty much an hour and a half of stupid fun and while I'd never nominate it for an oscar or any other accolade, I still think it was worth watching..
A remake of "Good, Bad & Ugly" set in South America.
What disturbed more, was that it was an obvious plagiate (or call it a remake) of the Leone's classic "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly" but without reaching its class.
it has great action funny dialogue and an all star cast including Mr Lambert, Mario van Peebles, Patrick Stewart and even Denis Leary.
the plot is simple Christopher plays Dani Servigo a small time criminal who is busted out of prison by Cole parker played by Mario van Peebles and together they reluctantly team up to find a hidden loot but are pursued by Armor o Malley played by Denis Leary and Loomis played by Patrick Stewart.
the plot may be simple but that is good since it doesn't drag on with developing the story and goes right to the action.Christopher's character Dani is quite funny whilst Mario's character Cole is a hard ass macho kinda guy.
It is this irony that should fill the space where the absent ethos is; but since the actors clearly don't care about their characters, why should we.Of course all this would be easier to tolerate if we had a snappy story well-directed - but the fact is, after a half-hour, I realized I didn't know what was going on, and that I really couldn't care less.I remember Van Peebles from New Jack City, how brilliant he was - what happened to him?.
I watched this film expecting it to be a rip off of Lethal Weapon or The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
If anything, this is much more a clone of Lethal Weapon, and it's a good one too.Being a fan of Christopher Lambert, it was great to see him in wise-cracking action and Mario Van Peebles was equally good.
I also thought Denis Leary was a terrific bad guy and I liked Brenda Bakke as Maria too, a much better role for her than in Under Siege 2.
I would go so far as to say this is just as much fun as Highlander, except it's a comedy with plenty of gags, some good, some not so good, but the film has so much pace to it that it doesn't really matter.So if you like a good-humoured buddy flick, and you liked Heartbreak Ridge, then you should see Gunmen..
Lambert and Van Peebles have some nice chemistry together as a drug smuggler and a undercover cop, respectively, and Leary makes a genuinely creepy bad guy.
Patrick ("Number One") Stewart also turns in a good supporting role as a crime boss.
The violence is aplenty, and the direction is a little too pounding, but hey...who would watch a movie like this for plotline anyway?
Watch this, and you'll get it all out of your system.Actually, this is easily one of Lambert's best performances, as the eccentric smuggler.
Oddly entertaining, mixed action film.
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.
When his brother gets killed, Dani is a wanted man - by undercover DEA agent Cole Parker and also by Armor O'Malley, who is working for drug boss Loomis.
Together, Servigo and Parker search for the boat....After Highlander 2 bombed big time, tins went a little awry for Lambert.
It's trying to be some sort of action film where the makers think we will have a good time because Lambert plays some sort of moron and Van Peebles is the straight guy.It fails miserably due to the fact that it's too incoherent and Leary isn't how he was in Judgment Night,mans he didn't get enough screen time.Instead we have the two leads in different set pieces involving water dunking, waterfalls, and lots of random extras being blown to bits.Twenty years ago, this could have been a lot of fun, but these days, the film is dull even at four in the morning when you cannot sleep.At least Patrick Stewart is in it, and he is hilarious for all the wrong reasons.Dull..
Of course, the film ends on a note about the little girl and the nuns but that is not the movie one gets.Roger Ebert recounts the secession of stolen elements from actual motion pictures and defines part of the problem with this mess.
Gunmen is set in the jungles of South America where drug lord Loomis (Patrick Stewart) has hired mercenary Armor (Denis Leary) to find 400 million dollars of his stolen money, while moving the cash one of his men named Karl Servigo loaded it on a boat somewhere ready to sail off after meeting his brother Dani (Christopher Lambert).
After Karl dies while being tortured by Armor the only other person who might know where the boat is happens to be Dani, however Armor isn't the only one looking for Dani as New York cop Cole Parker (Mario van Peebles) is aware of the money & breaks Dani out of prison in order to find out where the boat is.
The script by Stephen Sommers (who notably later went on to direct high profile fantasy films such as The Mummy (1999), Van Helsing (2004) & G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra (2009)) is a light hearted affair with plenty of banter between the two mismatched leads who inevitably become good friends by the end & a quick succession of one-liners but I thought there was a real chemistry lacking between the two leads, maybe it was Lambert & Peebels performances or the script or the direction but I never warmed to either of them.
The villain starts out as a frail Patrick Stewart in a wheelchair (practice for his role as Xavier in the X-Men films?) who is wasted in a small role before Armor decides to run the show himself, having said that Armor isn't the brightest bad guy, why did he kill Karl in the first place?
The acting didn't impress me, as I said I thought there was little to no chemistry between Lambert & Peebles which really killed the film dead for me.Gunmen is an average action thriller with the whole buddy buddy mismatched partner thing going on of which there are many better examples out there.