Image | 2010 | 82 mins. | R
I’ve been a fan of 50 Cent since his party ready hit, “In da Club” blasted onto the airwaves in 2003. Though he quickly became a multi-platinum rap artist, by 2005, had branched into acting. For his first film he starred alongside Terrence Howard in the semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin’. He followed that up with Home of the Brave, in which he played a soldier home from the Iraq War, traumatized after killing an Iraqi woman, and starred opposite Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in 2008’s Righteous Kill. Based on that resume, I think it’s safe to say that 50 plans on doing more than just dabbling in films.
Credited here as Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, he plays an urban arms dealer who can get the goods and move ‘em fast with little difficulty. A surprisingly bloated looking Val Kilmer plays a recently released convict named Angel, who happens to be an old friend of Rich’s. Angel is quickly welcomed into his old buddy’s arms business and they get down to the business of moving a large amount of powerful weapons. Unbeknownst to Rich and his posse, the gang is being investigated by a couple of veteran police detectives (James Remar and Paul Calderon), are investigating the operation, determined to stop them and send them to jail for a very long time.
Not only does Jackson star in Gun, but he wrote and produced it as well. Given the fact that he directed his 2009 vehicle, Before I Self Destruct, it’s somewhat surprising that he actually turned over the directing reigns to Jessy Terrero (Soul Plane), who has directed several of 50 Cents videos. While Gun wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be—it managed to hold my attention throughout—it wasn’t what I would call a good film, and I probably won’t watch it again anytime soon.
Gun is your standard “good triumphs over evil” tale, with a bit of a twist that might surprise you for a second. Val Kilmer brings whatever he has left in the tank to the table here, but after watching this, I have to wonder, what happened to this guy? Twenty years ago, he was poised to be one of the best actors of his generation. Now? Not so much…It seems like he’s just cashing checks wherever he can get them a lot of the time. The rest of the cast do their best to help carry the film, and I was especially pleased with the appearance of John Larroquette. I love this guy in almost everything he does and Gun is no exception.
Be warned though that Gun is saddled with a script that is mostly second rate. The film at times moves as slow as a tortoise and there’s nothing particularly unique here. However, If you like action, 50 Cent, or Val Kilmer this movie just might deserve a spot in your rental queue.
Image has given Gun mid-level Blu-ray treatment, with a 2.35:1, 1080p transfer. It’s a washed-out treatment, but it works. There are gun-metal gray color tones all over the place. The DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix is clean enough. No special features.
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