Three losers, Eddie, Lucas and Mamet, are sent to collect some debt at a remote farm. But the thugs there are too hard for them, and they are humiliated. They return for revenge, it gets out of hand, ends with a bloodbath and they are left with a big amount of cocaine. The drugs belong to local mob boss Horace Burke, who sends his son to find them. Cops are also after them.
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About the only kindest thing one can say for "Men with Guns" is that unlike most Canadian films, the movie does not try to disguise its location and characters as American - it's made clear it's taking place in Toronto and the surrounding area. Otherwise, the movie goes wrong in just about every way you can think of. The main problem is with the script. The heart of the story - two criminal lowlifes getting their hands on a large supply of illegal narcotics belonging to the mob - has been done on TV and in other movies many many times before. It still could have worked, but the script also suffers from characters that are not only extremely thin, but are pretty repulsive and one note. The cast shows some talent, but the only actor who manages to make an impression is American Paul Sorvino - and he is only given three (brief) scenes in the entire movie. The movie also suffers from shoddy production values; it looks like a low budget Canadian TV show from the 1980s instead of a movie. Obviously not to be confused with the reportedly superior John Sayles movie of the same title that came out around the same time.
For me, the real strength of this film is its authenticity. It reminded me a little of "Laws of Gravity".It's unabashedly Canadian, low-budget, and gritty. Where a big (or even medium) budget Hollywood movie would have nice costumes, a crisp soundtrack, star players, a fantastical plot, and try to pass off Toronto as New York, Men With Guns does everything exactly the opposite and is so much better for it.The main cast are barely-known, unshaven and unattractive, wearing what could be their own street clothes. The characters aren't heroes, they're losers. Their small-time criminal stupidity and immaturity is exactly what you would expect if a bunch of lowlifes came across a huge bag of cocaine by accident. There's no million-dollar deal, no flashy clothes, cars and jewels, no plan: instead they get really high, pick up some trashy girls at a local club, then go home and destroy their dumpy apartment. Their idea of preparing for a heist is to smoke drugs, set off fireworks, and shoot at beer cans. The cops and mob easily track them down. The chase scene doesn't have over-the-top car stunts and end in a thrilling get away: the main character is run to the ground, puking and stumbling. The sex scene isn't romantic and shot with body-doubles: it's bent over a bathroom sink, fumbling for a condom, and doesn't escape the awkward morning-after hangover. In short, the story is no fairy tale.Don't get me wrong, Men With Guns has its flaws (the mob/cop caricatures, the hasty ending, some poor support acting/casting), but the B-movie quality isn't one of them. It's not a matter of "it's so bad, it's good", it's that parts of the movie feel genuine enough that it could be the adaptation of a true story.Ignoring the details of the plot in favour of the overall ambiance, I rate it 7/10.
The basic plotline could apply to hundreds of movies: a couple of regular guys get mixed up in the world of drug dealers and guns, to their peril. There are only so many twists and turns a screenwriter or director can throw into such a story, so this isn't exactly the kind of film that will change the world. But the performances are excellent (especially Callum Keith Rennie, playing the sad, sweet, tragic mental case so well you can practically see the thoughts in his sleepy eyes), the script and art direction are just fine, and the overall level of suspense is perfect. The viewer will know his own tolerance for violence and profanity--there's quite a bit of both, but not so much that I found them distracting. Plenty of shots are fired, but no one is turned into bullet hamburger like you see in some movies. All in all, a good entry in the B-movie shoot-em-up crime genre, and especially watch out for CKR.
Men With Guns opens with two twenty-something guys sitting around discussing the times in their life when they were humiliated. Gregory Sporleder, Lucas, relates the time when he was forced to hold a guys coat every gym class or risk getting beaten up. Donal Logue, as Eddie, listens intensely, "I thought that was your coat... why didn't you tell me? Ah man, I got your back! You know that!"This powerful opening stands out more than anything else that happens in this film. It concerns two friends, Eddie and Lucas, who go out to a farm to retrieve some money for a local club owner. When they arrive, they are brutally attacked by a group of thugs.The incident doesn't sit well with Eddie and Lucas. They decide to put a scare into the men who attacked them. They manage to recruit one of their friends, Mamet, played by Callum Keith Rennie. Mamet is a well meaning sort but his mind-set appears suspended somewhere out above the clouds.The revenge plan goes horribly awry. Eddie and Lucas find themselves sitting in a room with three corpses and a whole lot of money and cocaine. At this point the film seems to get lost. It really doesn't know what to do or where to go. We watch as our three simpleton heroes party away the cocaine and money.A problem arises when it becomes evident that the cocaine and money actually belong to a local mob boss played by Paul Sorvino. Sorvino and his laughable cronies begin a man-hunt for the three.Without trying to give anything away, the film becomes a little tedious and manages to immerse itself in a bloodbath. A needless one.Where the film gets lost in its story it finds solace in its actors and characters. Callum Keith Rennie, a truly amazing Canadian actor, offers a haunting performance as a man whose subtle eccentricities begin to give light to his absolute insanity. Also watch for Easy Gary played by Max Perlich. His character is one of the most interesting that I've seen in a film in a long time.