2 out of 5

Director: Christopher McQuarrie

I remember loving The Way of the Gun when I watched it as a fledgling film snob, even though I was confused as hell, certain scenes really sticking out and nodding appreciatively of the Usual Suspects connection. Now, an aged, smelly, fat film snob, I watch it again and get why lil’ ol’ me liked it (hint: I was a jerk), but feel that other films have taken a similar formula and spun it more effectively. Way of the Gun is a few things: a heist film, a noir, a Western. Those genres all have crossover elements, and McQuarrie decided to take the darker aspects of each and blend them together. Phillippe and del Toro play a pair of grifters who cook up a kidnapping scheme – taking a pregnant woman who is acting as surrogate for a rich family – but don’t realize the nefarious connections that the woman has which make the plans quickly go sour. All of this is good fodder for a noir film, and writer/director McQuarrie has the formula for noir leads in Phillipe and del Toro. But he forgets to add the dash to the formula to make them interesting, the same going for the plot, which withholds information tortuously but dribbles it out in a droll fashion such that we’re not sure if it’s supposed to be a development or not. Now it’s not such a horrible thing – McQuarrie set out to challenge film expectations and certain moments feel really at home doing that. But the stretches between those moments are ponderous, and lend the belief that his overly clever scripting was brought to more interesting life in the Usual Suspects by a talented director. The quotes are great, the themes are smartly laced into an intelligently subtle script, but it feels hollow, lacking life. Full of ideas but beaten into submission by the need to stick to a pre-design. Still, watch it for those moments, and wait to see if some day (still waiting ten years on…) McQuarrie decides to prove what more he can do.