I recently had the pleasure of viewing Guns For Hire. Before watching I had never heard of the film before, so I was a bit skeptical with low expectations. I was pleasantly surprised when the film exceeded every expectation I could have had. The movie was an absolute treat to watch. The writing was superb. Often little known films have a slew a problems which all start with the writing. The story easily flowed and the plot unfolded naturally. The characters were fully developed and seemed more like genuine individuals instead of plot devices. The dialogue was naturalistic and the verbiage was contemporary. The acting was top notch. The cinematography was stylistic and the direction was fluid.I definitely recommend this film to anyone who is a movie fan. You will not be disappointed as it is an easy watch.

First this first: a lot of people are under the impression that Guns For Hire is an action film. It is not. While there is some action sequences in it, it is really a dark comedy, and a fairly witty one at that.As a small budget indie film the production is very good. Orlando Jones and Tony Shalhoub originally drew me to this title but it was a pleasant surprise to see Sarah Shahi in the cast as well. I have been a fan of hers since I first saw her in Sleeper Cell.Without giving too much away, the story moves along nicely without too much padding or unnecessary exposition. The dialog does seem a little overwrought at times but the entire cast does an excellent job. There are some very funny lines in this film, mostly delivered by Jeffery Dean Morgan, that make is clear you are watching a very smart, dark comedy.Athena (played by Ever Carradine) hires Beatle (Michelle Hicks) to kill her. However, Athena is already being stalked by a killer thanks to some dealings in her past. And that is the set up for the rest of the story. Normally I can pretty much tell how a film like this is going to end but I was pleasantly surprised at this ending. The payoff at the end was worth the wait.The romance between Athena and Beatle develops naturally and does not seemed rushed or shoehorned in like so many other movies out today. I'm sure there will be some that object to any same sex relationships in films but this one does not seem to be gratuitous of there only for shock value. With some witty dialogue, solid performances, surprising plot twists and just enough action to keep the story moving Guns For Hire deserves a look.

There's an attempt to create a smart exchange of wit and bullets here, although the material lacks the depth for assembly of rogue gallery. Sadly, it doesn't deliver in term of style as well, since it spends too much time portraying the struggle with overreaching extravagance. Furthering the awkward nature is the dubious script which sounds like poor interpretation of Mexican low grade action movies' one liner.It follows the strange lead female as she's thrown in noir web of assassination and conspiracy, the only consistent part is next subplot will be more ridiculous than before. For most parts, acting is mediocre, the actors can't cover the silliness of it all. Their dialogues are highly surreal, not in preferable over-the-top manner either. At one point, they really appear to be throwing rejected catchphrases from 80s to each other.The surprising thing is the movie manages to present Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Orlando Jones. However, they can't carry the movie with the material given to them, it's not that one or two decent performances could overcome the campy unrealistic nature anyway. The movie also tries to shoehorn some fanservice, but this just makes the entire scheme more muddled as it tries to produce level of polish it can't afford.Action department is also subpar. In some other movies like Smokin' Aces or Shoot 'Em Up, they do all sorts of ridiculous stunts, this movie barely has anything resembling high octane choreography. Perhaps, the whole thing is more intended to be a parody, yet the shifting tone is jarring. Not to mention, it's not exactly humorous.With a mess of awful logic in the plot, shifty acting and lack of solid direction, this one is not a decent hire.

Unfortunately, although this film tries to be very clever, and it first it does seem to be, it quickly deteriorates into a sorry mess. A woman who advertises herself as a tow truck service cum assassin, waits patiently in a local park for the principal to show up, drop a paper bag of presumably money into a wastebasket and move on. The hit woman than goes and gets the money, takes it home and stashes the bag in a hole she has made beneath the floorboards under her bed. During this time she strikes up an erotic relationship with a woman who wants the hit woman to kill her. The acting throughout this film is worse than sophomoric. The only good (even outstanding) performance is by Jeffery Dean Morgan. I can't imagine how this fine actor got talked into this film. Orlando Jones too has a small role, but doesn't get a chance to do much of anything. Okay, all the above is amateurish and we can all forgive a Top Ramen budget, but the real killer is the end when we realize we've been made the butt of a big joke. Everything we've just watched was nothing but the figment of a madman's hallucinations. Hah hah. This is insulting to me, and it's highly unoriginal, the first such film case going back at least to 1920. At the time it was considered unique and clever. Now, ninety-five years later, it's really blah.