With 2013’s 2 Guns, superstars Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg paired on screen for the first time. As of early 2024, this remains their only cinematic partnership, but who knows what the future might bring?

Robert Trench (Washington) and Michael Stigman (Wahlberg) get together to commit a series of crimes. Neither understands the truth behind their collaboration, though.

Both work undercover, Trench for the DEA and Stigman for the Navy SEALS. This leads them on a series of complications as they battle with each other and a series of foes.

With Washington and Wahlberg as the leads and other notables such as Paula Patton, Edward James Olmos, Bill Paxton, Fred Ward and James Marsden in tow, Guns looked like a sure-fire hit. However, it only did… okay.

The film took in $131 million worldwide off a budget of $61 million, so it probably roughly broke even eventually. Nonetheless, that seemed like a less than stellar take for a flick with so much star power.

Perhaps this occurred because Guns offers a pretty perfunctory mix of action, comedy and thriller. Though it kicks to life at times, too much of it feels “paint by numbers”.

This comes as a disappointment due to a number of factors, one of which stems from the premise. The notion of the two undercover operatives who work together without knowledge of each other’s jobs sounds provocative.

Also, Guns comes with that aforementioned pedigree. With all those fine actors along for the ride, Guns needs to come with a better script.

Too much of Guns feels cobbled together like an amalgam of other action movies. It essentially offers a minor twist on the buddy cop concept, but beyond its “two undercover dudes unaware of their status” idea, it fails to find anything clever or original.

This means we wind up with a pretty perfunctory tale, one that doesn’t come with inventiveness or spark. It mixes the usual violence, drama and dark humor to deliver a less than thrilling melange.

Washington and Wahlberg do give us a pretty solid lead pair. They mesh well and demonstrate enough chemistry that I hope they partner again someday.

And if that occurs, I hope they find a project with more substance and freshness than Guns. The movie remains a painless affair that maintains our attention across its 109 minutes, but it never rises above genre clichés.

2 Guns appears in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Across the board, this was an appealing transfer.

Sharpness looked strong most of the time. Some interior elements seemed a little tentative, but the image usually gave us a tight, well-defined image.

Jagged edges and moiré effects remained absent, while edge haloes also failed to appear. Print flaws stayed absent as well.

To the shock of no one, Guns offered a typical mix of orange and teal. These tones seemed predictable, but they worked fine within the movie’s design parameters and showed good delineation.

Blacks were dark and tight, while shadows showed nice clarity and smoothness. I thought this was a consistently strong image.

I also felt pleased with the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack. With a fair amount of action on display, the mix used the channels in an involving manner throughout much of the film.

This meant gunfire and other mayhem all around the room, and the elements connected in a concise, smooth manner. Add to that music as a bold participant and the soundscape turned into an aggressive partner.

Audio quality always satisfied. Music was dynamic and full, and effects followed suit, so those components came across as accurate and well-developed.

Speech seemed distinctive and crisp, without edginess or other issues. Everything impressed in this strong soundtrack.

As we shift to extras, we open with an audio commentary from director Baltazar Kormákur and producer Adam Siegel. Both sit together for this running, screen-specific discussion of the source and its adaptation, story/characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, stunts and action, costumes, and related domains.

Overall, Kormákur and Siegel provide a pretty good chat. They interact well and cover enough appropriate topics to ensure we get a largely engaging view of the project.

Eight Deleted and Extended Scenes fill a total of 11 minutes, 50 seconds. We get added exposition as well as a bit more action and some comedy. None of it adds up to anything especially significant, however.

Under Click Click, Bang Bang, we get four featurettes that occupy 30 minutes, 18 seconds all together. Across these, we hear from Siegel, Kormákur, author Steven Grant, producers Randall Emmett, Marc Platt and Ross Richie, screenwriter Blake Masters, production designer Beth Mickle, costume designer Laura Jean Shannon, bull wrangler Marshall DeSouge, head trainer Trevor George, animal trainer Jason M. Owen, armorer Michael Panevics, stunt coordinator Darrin Prescott, SPFX coordinator James Lorimer, New Orleans FD District Chief Chris Mickal, and actors Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Edward James Olmos, Paula Patton, Bill Paxton, and James Marsden.

“Click” covers the source graphic novel and its adaptation, story/characters, cast and performances, Kormákur’s approach, sets and locations, costumes, working with animals, stunts and action, and various effects.

Expect a mix of fluff and insights. We get enough of the latter to keep us with “Click” but too much happy talk comes along for the ride.

The disc opens with ads for RIPD, The World’s End, Despicable Me 2, Jobs, Dead In Tombstone, Kick-Ass 2, Fast & Furious 6 and Machete Kills.

Previews adds clips for Jurassic Park Trilogy, Scarface (1983), Jaws, Fast Five, The Bourne Legacy, Contraband and Safe House. No trailer for Guns appears here.

Despite a strong cast, 2 Guns never turns into anything memorable. Although its stars make it watchable, the end product lacks the kick it needs to become better than average. The Blu-ray comes with very good picture and audio as well as a few bonus features. Gun doesn’t flop but it also fails to ignite.