Parker and Longbaugh (Ryan Phillippe and Benecio del Toro) are two small-time hoods looking to score big by kidnapping a woman carrying a mobster's child. For some strange reason they act against their natures and common sense and decide to first let the girl go, then help her escape the clutches of the mobster who supposedly impregnated her. The Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid rip-offs (excuse me, *homages*) are apparent at points throughout, but especially obvious at the end.

What a thematic mess. Don't have the main character give us the phony voice-over telling us he's not interested in redemption, after protecting a pregnant mother from ruthless mobsters for no other possible reason than to try to redeem himself from a life of killing and grifting. Don't try to have your protagonists be both the heroes and anti-heroes at the same time. Be one or the other.

This is the only time Benecio del Toro hasn't been able to carry a movie. Some burdens are just too great.

Kinda sounds like a martial arts movie set in the Old West. Actually, it was a rather strange movie directed and written by the guy who wrote the screenplay for The Usual Suspects. But unlike The Usual Suspects, this lackluster film failed to deliver.

The cast was even more diverse than Suspects, if that is even possible. Ryan Philippe, Benicio del Toro, and Juliette Lewis were the headliners, with a cast rounded out by Taye Diggs, Nicky Katt, and James Caan. Caan's performance was the one diamond in this coal mine of acting drivel. He rarely fails to deliver stellar, well-nuanced characters. Taye Diggs is not believable as a bodyguard. He is a model, not an actor. Del Toro gives us his typical one-dimensional character that we've seen a thousand times, and Philippe's accent was absolutely dreadful (watch Matt Damon if you want real Boston). Lewis, typically strong (i.e. Natural Born Killers), was a little disappointing in her role as a surrogate mother for doting multi-millionaire parents.

The storyline is basically two cons (del Toro and Philippe) who abandon their typical money-making schemes (sperm donation, etc) to pursue a more lucrative idea by kidnapping the surrogate of a millionaire. After watching the first gunfight (guns galore, thus the title), one really begins to wonder where these two get their skills from. Two cons that have to jack-off to make ends meet typically don't have the elite skills of the top Army Rangers in tactical weaponry. But these two are obviously gifted in S.W.A.T. Remarkably, it becomes even more surreal as these two lead the skilled bodyguards of the surrogate down alleyways in intricate cat and mouse play that even Jerry and the Road Runner would be envious of.

A potentially intricate plot is heavily diluted by a poorly written script and even worse directing. I don't think this film is worthy of being in the same review as The Usual Suspects, much less being on its cover. This film was a good idea, but poorly executed.

I get the feeling there was alot of the story we're missing here; It hints at the possibility of being a truly epic crime story, with rich background stories and intricate plots to unfold. And while this is not the overall result, there are alot of really great moments in this quirky and well-acted crime drama. Ryan and Benicio are compelling leads, and Caan is excellent as an aging mobster. And, of course, it's really all about the big finish. Kind of a Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid thing...This is one of those odd movies I just really liked.

I knew as soon as the first five minutes had passed that this was my kind of movie. This flick is definately a must for any action movie buff's DVD collection. The final shoot out is raw!

"The Way of the Gun" is a very complex and violent film, but then so are the characters portrayed in the film. Most the complaints I hear from people who have seen this film is that it is violence for violence sake. Not true. The individuals involved in the film are all violent men; and they don't ask for anything, they take it by force. That is the world they live in, and that is their nature: And that is also the premise of the film. Therefore, you will either like this film, or you won't. I happen to believe that this was a very good film. Not great [almost], but very good.

The story revolves around two petty losers, Longbaugh (Benicio Del Toro) and his partner Parker (Ryan Phillipe). Both of them are good friends who are wanderers. Neither holds a job, and for them anything is for the taking. They make money any way they can: From petty larceny to robbery, or whatever other way they can. While attempting to earn money at a sperm bank clinic; they both overhear a chance conversation about a woman who is the surrogate mother (Juliette Lewis) of a very rich couple. In their greed to make a quick bundle of money, they both decide to kidnap her and hold her for ransom.

However, in their greed to rush into the kidnapping they don't plan it very well. First, and foremost, they know nothing about the rich man whom they are about to deal with. He is a criminal not unlike them, only he has quite a few men under his control. Moreover, his men are trained killers who will stop at nothing to see that the surrogate mother is not abducted: Even if it means killing her. What Longbaugh and Parker find themselves in is a situation in which they are totally outmatched, outgunned, outmanuevered and more importantly; they are up against a man who will stop at nothing to see them dead.

The acting by ALL the film's characters is great. Also, the action scenes are very intense and dramatic. The shoot-out scenes are some of the most realistic I have ever seen in film. You almost believe that the characters are actually firing real rounds. This in itself give this film a very realistic intensity lacking in many films of this genre. [Many films look fake in their shootouts--not this one}. As I wrote in the beginnig, this is a very complex film. Some of the characters in the film give outstanding performances: From James Caan, who has a deep secret that invovles the surrogate mother, to Taye Diggs and Nicky Katt, the hired bodyguards of Juliete Lewis. The film is highly recommended! [Stars: 4.5]

Sarah Silverman delivers the best opening string of F-Bombs in movie history. It was so good it made Tony Montana envious. He's not even gay, but he'll do it! Haha That's simply hilarious. In fact, the opening scene is one of the greatest scenes in movie history. It's even instructional. If you are a loud-mouthed wench, there is no way a boyfriend that looks like a meth-addicted Carrot Top is going to protect you from getting your face caved in. In addition, it's the perfect response from someone confronted with that situation: Punch the person talking the most trash. Punch them fast, hard, without warning, and repeatedly.

The Way of the Gun is a story of two hustlers - Mr. Parker (Ryan Phillipe) and Mr. Longbow (Benecio Del Toro) - that deliver or elicit some of the best lines in movie history. I've never killed a man. Nobody brings up sex with dead people! Brilliant.

Juliette Lewis is having a surrogate baby for a rich guy and his wife, and she might as well be a walking goldmine for two losers that make their way through life by selling blood, plasma, and semen. What follows is a story of abduction, betrayal, all sorts of gun-play, and more surprise twists and turns than most movies that claim to be suspenseful.

The heart of the movie is the drama and tension between all parties. James Caan and others as bagmen haunting and hunting every move made by Parker and Longbow are very convincing. It really has the feel of a true gangster movie; and if it had had a cast with more notoriety, I feel it would have been a much larger success.

Overall, it's a fairly good movie that keeps a viewer interested.

Does this movie compare to THE USUAL SUSPECTS?

Does it matter?

Anyone brilliant enough to write the screenplay for SUSPECTS must have more than one movie in him, and McQuarrie proves he does with this. Some reviewers remarked about how he doesn't make you care for the characters in his film. And I think they missed the point: you're not supposed to. McQuarrie figures out how to make you enjoy watching them without either caring about them or being totally replused by them. He achieves a sacred principle of both writing and directing--making it a lot easier on even great actors like Del Toro and James Caan: freeing you from existential judgment or the self-referentialness lessor screen writers can fall into. This creates room for the nilhist philosophy and betrayal that competes with anything that can be called deep and abiding love whereever it occurs in this film.

EVERYONE in this movie is a "bag man;" even the unborn children. As such McQuarrie is saying something pretty deep about the modern world in total. And yet he does it in the context of not boring us to tears with preaching or burdening our minds with too much philosophy, pertinent or otherwise. All while giving us some of the most innovative car chases and shoot-em-up action scenes done in some time.

This movie came out in 2000, and to see how the actors have evolved since then is refreshing and exhilharating all by itself. Caan looks about ten years younger in the successful NBC-TV show LAS VEGAS of today than he does in this movie; showing off, obviously, the prodigious acting skills that forever remind us that THE GODFATHER was no fluke. (He is acting older and more beat down in this movie than he probably ever has been.) Every actor puts in some serious work in this, and make it worth seeing, and worth owning. And McQuarrie's writing and directing make it worth thinking about afterwards.

This film is usually tagged as a Tarantino wanna-be but it has little in common with jokey pieces of fluff like PULP FICTION. This is a densely over-plotted film-- there's a few too many layers of deception among a few too many characters-- but it at least takes the idea of death seriously. This is not light-hearted stuff, it's almost solemn. i found it to be more interesting than the massively over-rated USUAL SUSPECTS.
It suffers in the sense of not clearly fleshing out the personalities of most of its characters but it ends with one of the all-time greatest mexican whorehouse shoot-outs i've ever seen.

Within the 5 minutes of the Way of the Gun, after a severe assault of swear words, followed by the all out malee in the parking lot of the Dive Bar in L.A., we are introduced to the main characters, Mr. Parker and Mr. Longbaugh. Little known to watchers and not at all elluded to in any way through the course of the film, Parker and Longbaugh were the real surnames of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; two outlaws always on the lookout for a quick, and illegal, way to make money. This is what we see with Way of the Gun's Parker (Ryan Phillipe) and Longbaugh (Benecio de Toro), two drifters and petty criminals, modern day Butch and Sundance in an up for anything, make money any way possible to survive. And set with the backdrop of the Mexican desert and mountains, and the musical score, which sounds like something straight off of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, writer/director Christopher McQuarrie (writer of The Usual Suspects)sets the stage for a modern day western, a updated cowboy film about money, greed, loyalty, and family, in many senses of the word. Even the title sounds like the name of a Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, or Sam Elliot movie.

The film is filled to the brim with exciting shootouts; an old western-style standoff within the confines of a Mexican hacienda-like hotel, complete with a saloon and fountain filled with dust and sharp turns. The movie is also bullet-riddled with a good lines and a well-written narrative, spoken in full by Mr. Parker. Twists and turns, hard men softening their mentality long enough to reload their metaphorical six-shooters, and the pitting of young and reckless against old and seasoned, dialogue and bullet-wise, all fill the just near 2 hours of this greatly unique film. Fans of the modern day shoot 'em up and the classic western standoff will be pleased with this film, where irony, chance, and fate rule as undertones to the overtone of the modern-day western.

You know, for someone that was voted one of `The 25 Future Powers under 35' by Premiere Magazine, Christopher McQuarrie seems to have fallen off the radar recently, with The Way of the Gun (2000) being his last film, which is too bad as I think he has a really good sense of how to tell a story in a unique and interesting way. Along with writing the film, McQuarrie also makes his directorial debut. Appearing in the film is quite a cast (perhaps drawn by the siren song of working on a project by the person responsible for highly popular The Usual Suspects) in James Caan (Misery), Benicio Del Toro (The Usual Suspects), and Ryan Phillippe (I Know What You Did Last Summer), along with Taye Diggs (Chicago), Juliette Lewis (Cold Creek Manor), Geoffrey Lewis (Salem's Lot), and Scott Wilson (In the Heat of the Night).

The film starts with an exercise to see how much profanity can be crammed into the first two minutes. If there ever were a contest for such a thing, The Way of the Gun would surely rank. Once we get past that, we meet two individuals in Longbaugh (Del Toro) and Parker (Phillippe). They appear to be a couple of grifter types, surviving on the fringe of the system, collecting money where they can, including, but not limited to, donating baby batter, which is where they conceive (pardon the pun) an idea to kidnap a pregnant woman (Lewis) and hold her for ransom. Turns out the woman is a surrogate mother, and her benefactors, the soon-to be recipients of the unborn babe, are going to pay the woman one million dollars once the transaction is completed, so the duo figure they got some very deep pockets. Oh yeah, she's also constantly by bodyguards, which probably cost a pretty penny. The plan goes off, but not without a hitch as a gun battle between the duo and the bodyguards ensues, but they eventually do make off with the woman, only to learn the surrogate father is a rich and powerful figure linked to various underworld elements, and has no problem in using such elements to avoid any nasty entanglements with the police. One of these elements is Joe Sarno (Caan), essentially a bagman (a person who collects money, as for racketeers), but also someone who has a unique interest in the events so far, much more so than just performing a task assigned to him by his employer. As the once duo, now a trio (a foursome, if you count the unborn baby) head south of the border (that's Mexico to you and me, pard), things get really complicated as certain aspects of certain relationships are revealed, leaving this viewer to often time be left scratching his head, not so much out of the need to relieve an itch, but in a bewildered sense, as confusion settled in...but never fear, things do sort themselves out in their own, sweet time, at least enough to stop me from scratching my head and move on to other parts of my anatomy...(ain't thet a pretty picture)

Now let me say upfront, I'm wary of writers who also want to direct. It's not uncommon, as they feel that's the best way to translate their vision to celluloid, and sometimes it works well, but that's not always the case. In his previous two films, Public Access (1993) and The Usual Suspects, the directing chores were assigned to Bryan Singer (X-Men), and while I haven't yet seen Public Access, The Usual Suspects was a o fun (Singer is currently working on the new Superman movie, scheduled to be released in 2006, with Kevin Spacey to appear as Lex Luthor...does anyone remember Spacey's cameo as Dr. Evil in the last Austin Powers film?). I did enjoy the film, but I felt there were really no standout performances. It was almost like the story overshadowed the characters. Phillippe and Del Toro's characters seemed to be the main ones early on, but they soon became peripherals as the story progressed. As far as Caan's character goes, it isn't like we haven't seen him do virtually the same character he's done many times before..and then there's Juliette Lewis...I don't really care for her as an actress that much, as I tire of the waifish idiot routine, and imagine that same routine except now she's waddling around, about to spew forth a baby. She actually does well, and I give her agent a ton a credit as he/she/they have kept her working continuously, with five films scheduled for release in 2005. While I did enjoy the film a lot, I thought McQuarrie got a little too cutesy with the dialogue at some points, and maybe he himself realized this as there's one scene featuring one of the characters making fun of the way another talks. The pacing of the story felt a little odd, as the beginning starts out with a lot of action, then wanes throughout the middle, finishing up stronger than it began. The plot proceeds in a linear fashion, but the details involving the characters do not, as bits of crucial information are revealed when McQuarrie deemed necessary. This results in confusion and sometimes frustration, but he doesn't leaving you hanging too much, as things become clear near the end. I respect his ability to visualize telling a tale in this manner, as if I tried to do it, I would mess things up horribly, constantly tripping over my own plot threads. All in all, there's lots of gunplay, lots of blood, smart performances, smart writing, and an entertaining film.

The widescreen anamorphic (1.85:1) picture (enhanced for 16 X 9 TVs) looks sharp, and the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio is clear. Special features include a commentary track by the director and composer, an isolated music track featuring commentary by the composer, storyboards and script of a deleted scene, production notes, and biographies with video interviews with the cast.

Cookieman108

By the way, if I learned anything from this film (as I'm sure Ryan Phillippe's character of Parker did), it is to always look before you leap, especially in and around a Mexican brothel...

I bought this as an Artisan Entertainment 2-pack, along with the film Killing Zoe (1994) from Amazon. Separately, The Way of the Gun is listed as $9.98, Killing Zoe $13.48, and the two pack cost $17.98, so you do the math.

A plan boils in place for both Ryan Phillippe (The I Inside, Antitrust) and Benicio Del Toro (Traffic, Sin City) as they kidnap a very pregnant Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers, Cold Creek Manor) for ransom. The heat turns up as everyone wants her unborn baby. The result ends up in a blood soaked mayhem of a showdown in some Mexican place in the middle of the desert. James Caan (Dogville, Elf), Nicky Katt (Suburbia, Boiler Room), Taye Diggs (Chicago, New Best Friend), Dylan Kussman (Dead Poet's Society), Kristen Lehman (Tv's The Outer Limits), Scott Wilson (Shiloh, Dead Man Walking) and Geoffrey Lewis (Salem's Lot, The New Guy) star in this, for me it was a good movie, you be the judge. From the acclaimed writer of The Usual Suspects, Christopher McQuarrie. McQuarrie also directed. Fast, fierce and brutal. Phillippe and especially Del Toro are great as hell.

First off if you're considering buying this movie, definitely read at least three pages of the reviews here and more if possible. You'll get a good feel of the film that way. Some folks get this movie and some have no clue at all.

I'm just going to add some comments that are lacking or that have been mis-stated.

First, only in the most loose definition of plot twists or subplots, does this film have either. The story is entirely linear, however you have to piece together parts of the story from sparse information. The story begins at least 9 months prior to when the movie starts with the relationship and "deal" between the bagman and the surrogate mother (but you don't know this until nearly the end and it's subtle enough to miss). The film story fully begins with the kidnapping. From that point on the various antagonists all see opportunities and then angle to make it happen, except for the bagman who is protecting more than his employer.

Second, this is not about petty crooks and a botched job. This is a story that involves professional criminals, professional mobsters and professional bodyguards, all of whom show clarity and intelligence beyond typical clever, one-liner, hollywood scripting.

The fact that police are only peripherally involved in any part of the film simply indicates that the dealings are far beyond your average cops and robbers style movie. This is a subculture that is not visible to normal society. The dialogue between Longbaugh and Sarno should illustrate this nicely. There is an understanding between them that goes well beyond the simple words. This is equally true for the relationship between Longbaugh and Parker, and Sarno and Abner - much is conveyed but little is said. This is a product of excellence in both acting and directing.

Lastly, the viewer is conflicted by the characters. Bodyguards should be good guys, but are not sympathetic and are really just mercenary. Chidduck is a bad person, but is the only person with a good intent. Longbaugh, Parker and Sarno are criminals pure and simple, but can be sympathetic. All of these characters show that the line between good/evil, or honor/dishonor, or morality, etc is a very blurry line, and one that the characters cross over without regret. There are no absolutes.
This is good script writing, because that does not happen by sheer good fortune.

One last thought. I feel that this film is better than the Usual Suspects. Simply because I think the Way of the Gun is more believable and more steeped in reality. The Usual Suspects to me was clever but ultimately a fantasy.

This freshman effort by writer/director McQuarrie deserves a look, especially if one likes the 'caper gone wrong' sub-genre. It ranks with scuh films as 'Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels', 'Sexy Beast', 'Confidence' and 'The Hot Rock' (but not quite as good as Pulp Fiction). Although the secretive interconnectedness of the characters is pretty easy to decipher -it will be impossible to ascertain their fates. Moreover, there is no authentic protagonist in the film (even Philippe and Del Toro cannot be thought of as your average run-of-the-mill 'anti-heros'). McQuarrie really seems to channel Peckinpah in establishing the overall mood of the film (particularly with the 'Mexican-standoff' scene and with the ridiculously violent, funny, and extremely profane opening. Also, if you're are a fan of 'bells' and 'whistles' that DVDs have over VHS, the extra features option enables the viewer to witness a never filmed storyboard scene you'd wish they had actually put on film.

"The Way Of The Gun" was written, and actually directed by the writer of the great "The Usual Suspects", so this has to be good, right?.

In this movie, we can see good actors like James Caan and Benicio Del Toro, so this has to be good, right?.

Also, we can find actors that appear in some good movies like Ryan Philippe in "Gosford Park" and Juliette Lewis in "Cape Fear" and "Natural Born Killers", so this has to be good, right?.

The answer to those previous questions is the same: WRONG, VERY WRONG!!.

"The Way Of The Gun" is supposed to be a very clever film, with exciting plot twists, like those we saw in "The Usual Suspects", but is merely a pretty poor movie, with half baked ideas, with an awful screenplay, horrible direction, mediocre performances by almost every person in this so-called "movie", only the great James Caan and Benicio Del Toro are tolerable on this thing, but they show only a very small percentage of their acting talent.

Ryan Philippe and Juliette Lewis deliver perhaps their worst performances of their lives, and with Ryan Philippe that's saying a lot; in this thing, Juliette Lewis overacts 99% of the time, she is supposed to be a pregnant woman, but she screams like she is being tortured by Torquemada and the Spanish Inquisition; where is the talented young actress we saw in "Cape Fear"?, gone forever...perhaps. And Ryan Philippe is a horrible actor, for every 10 bad movies he makes, he delivers only one decent performance; of course "The Way Of The Gun" isn't the decent one.

The story is very poor and senseless, 10 minutes after the ridiculous opening scene you are through with this silly and pretentious film; the characters are so poorly developed and are so stupid, that they make look the character Kelso from the TV sitcom "That 70's Show" like a super-genius that will discover the cure for the AIDS illness.

If you are looking for an entertaining movie, look somewhere else; a race between a couple of snails is 1000 times better than seen this pathetic "movie".

Mr. McQuarrie, instead of trying to be a ridiculous imitation of Quentin Tarantino, please stick to your writer's abilities and write another script as good as the one you did in "The Usual Suspects", not trash like this.

What's the point of all the mayhem? I guess it really boils down to how one can really, really exploit a simple story line and then make it into a bloody trail and blow it to ridiculous proportions. In the middle of it all, I can only look at the time in my DVD player to find out how much time has elapsed (when is the piece going to end?). I did almost turn it off, but do not want to review something I really didn't completely finish. I couldn't even write a good review, because I'm now spending time writing this review. Just say I'm so dumbfoundingly left speechless.

Just don't waste your time on this one...there's too many movies where one can spend a relaxing afternoon. Life's too short for this one.

Usually even with a bad script, you can't go wrong with a high calibre cast. Taye Diggs, Benicio, James Caan, Juliette Lewis... all some of my top actors. But even so, McQuarrie manages to mess this one up. I blame the direction moreso than the storyline. I think the storyline could have been fixed with better direction. As presented, the story was very hard to follow not only in terms of cohesiveness but also in being able to keep my interest. I only watched it to the end out of sheer curiosity. I can't recall in recent memory seeing a movie with such potential fall on its face. Oh wait, there's Kill Bill 2 which actually is better than this one. I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone. Instead do what I did and watch "Eight Heads in a Duffel Bag" which also was better than this one!

This film opens with one of the best and most original scenes in years: a crazed, vulgar party girl (Silverman) calls out Ryan Phillipe, believing that her boyfriend will fight for her. She goes on a horrific tirade, until Phillipe becomes fed up and punches her in the face. It's probably the only cinematic example of this common phenomena--loud girls starting fights that their reluctant boyfriends have to carry out; but it's subverted wonderfully. However, everything is downhill from this initial colorful scene. The rest of the movie is a slow, often ponderous and wholly convoluted story of two men abducting the pregnant surrogate mother of a shady millionare. Watch the sequence before the credits, don't worry too much about the rest.

Not great either,but not bad. Pacing needs to be picked up some it tends to drag at points,I think sometimes its due to a lack of intresting dialogue or a real slow down to the narrative thread where we dont want a slow down. I believe if the action stops at a point, the filmaker needs to give us somthing else. This doesnt always happen in "gun".
When the dialogue is there and the story is in the groove this film is loaded with good stuff. A twenty mile an hour car chase that I found alot more fun then the car chases in " ..60 secs.." A couple of standoffs the first involving Juliette Lewis (whose character is very pregnant),and the second as she delivers her baby are handled very well by Mcquarrie. The final shootout is also well directed.
The story line(described enough times here that I wont repeat it) is diffrent than other hiest stories, or kidnapping capers. The acting is very solid by DelToro, Caan, and Lewis.So while there is room for improvement I'm still glad I have this film in my library, and I look forward to seeing McQuarrie's next film.

One of the worst and most disappointing films I have ever seen. I generally love del Toro films. Thats all the review you need.

Wow. What a waste of time. I feel like I have just thrown away 2 hours of my life that I could have been doing something much more productive. Usually when good actors like Phillipe, Del Toro, and Caan come together, the finished product is one of greatness. Well, not here folks.
I did not care about ONE of these characters. Not one. I never sympathized once with any of them. The criminals are stupid. I never really cared if they succeeded and got the money, or if they died in the next scene. The bodyguards of the wealthy man act like robots. Their dialogue seems forced, and, also ....robotic. Although she plays a very convincing pregnant lady, Julliette Lewis doesn't provide much. Long, pointless, dragged-out gun scenes plague the movie. Usually gun fights are cool, but I wasn't impressed. To all you reviewers who are giving this movie 5 stars...I ask, "WHY?!" There are so many better films than this out there, with better storylines and acting. This movie is not good. Plain and simple. And can Del Toro get any uglier? I mean how did this guy make it in Hollywood? I guess Hollywood needs an ugly guy for roles like this. Skip this one, and don't be fooled by it's price. It's not worth it.

This is a great movie.LOts of great gunfights well shot and they feel realisic.The story is hardcore and not for the faint of heart.The acting is great the names speak for themselves and they all perform well especially Benicio Del Toro,if you are an action lover you'll love this,if you love movies with cool shootouts you'll love this or if you just like thrillers about a kidnapping you'll also like this, go ahead and buy it its one of the best dvd price deals for a great movie i've seen!

I blind bought the movie after some friends recommended it to me. This is McQuarrie's first shot at directing, he wrote the the excellent ¨The Usual Suspects¨. While this isn't on par with his previous work, it's well written, has a good story with an amazing amount of depth (you can find a few Shakespear themes here if you feel like digging in), and it also has one amazing action sequence and two very intense and original ones.

Ryan Phillipe and Benicio del Toro are Parker and Longbough, two criminals who kidnap a young surrogate mother who is carrying a rich couple's baby who have quite a few connections. The story revolves around Parker and Longbough and how all the other characters are connected to them. In the end everything is tied in nicely. This movie gets better with more viewings too.

The acting here is top notch, Benicio Del Toro is great as usual and Phillippe is surprisingly good. The supporting roles are great too, Taye Diggs and Nikky Katt are pretty good as the bad guys and James Caan gives a good performance as a ¨bagman¨. Juliette Lewis, while annoying at times, also gives a believable performance.

The DVD isn't too shabby either. The video is sharp and the sound, while it depends on dialogue throughout most of the film, is great in the action scenes. The extras include commentary by Director, Storyboards and Scrips for deleted scenes, cast and crew bio. One complaint though is that the DVD doesn't inclue any type of subtitles, don't know why.

Overall: A well written,and plotted movie,with good performances,and surprising depth.

Highly entertaining and extremely well written. The writing alone makes the movie worth seeing. It has a great western feel as well that keeps things interesting throughout. My favorite line is one Juliette Lewis and Ryan Phillipe have with each other: Lewis-"I like bacon." Phillipe-"Its from a gas station." Lewis-"Its still good." Some well choreographed gunfights, witty banter, great acting, and a terrific score elevate this flick from generic crime caper/b-movie to classic cult film status.

i thoroughly enjoyed this one. i loved the directing style, and the filter that this film was shot through really added to the "feel" of the whole movie. it was very well acted, with quirky, loveable main characters; and a pretty good script. if you're a del toro fan, it's definitely a must-see. don't miss this one.

Two words, modern western. Remember the days of John Wayne? When a guy with a gun chased another guy with a gun halfway across the country with minimal police involvement? This is one of those movies.

The Way of the Gun (WoG)is most definately one of my favorite movies, not for it's over use of Colt 1911's or the amazing gun fight sequences, but for the religious and societal meanings laced throughout the film. Ryan Phillippe speaks of god and mercy with Benicio Del Toro, and Del Toro replies with, "I'm gonna tell him I was Framed," upsetting Phillippe, but in the end, Phillippe doesn't know what he has to say in his defense.

Let's not forget the societal statements of this movie, it's based on the concept that money equals happiness. Phillippe and Del Toro believe this and kidnap Julliete Lewis, a surigate mother, in hopes to collect on a ransom from the millionare parents of the baby.

But the plan doesn't play out and plot twist after plot twist end with blood shed and suprises. But the only way to actually know what happened and who did what, the film must be viewed multiple times. This is truely a modern masterpiece that was greatly understated and is required viewing for any person who watches movies.

The phrase, "Written by Christopher McQuire" no long holds any sway with me.

Here we have characters with no substance what so ever. They exist soley to curse and kill people. (And I mean that in a bad way) Since we know nothing about them we feel nothing for them.

There is a plot, but one that's ultimatly hollow. Criminals Phillipie and DelToro kidnap surigate mother Juleitte Lewis and hold her for ransom. The adoptive parents use their killer body guards Dey Diggs and James Cann to pursue with a slew of silly fight scenes.

There is nothing redeeming I can find about this film. The plot is silly and the characters hollow.

This is a great action film. Reviewers have often seemed disappointed by this film, as they were expecting another plot and character heavy movie like The Usual Suspects (which came from the same Director/Writer). I much prefer this film. For me, The Usual Suspects was too smart by half. Throughout the film I kept imagining a writer patting himself on the back for his brilliance. This is a much leaner and meaner piece of work. The basic plot is simplicity itself: a couple of low-level criminals kidnap a pregnant surrogate mother, who is carrying the child of a crime boss. The two demand a ransom, of course. Plot, however, is not what makes this film very, very good.

Director, McQuarrie, set out to create a sort of homage to the great, classic action films of the 1960's, and he has done a great job. Movies like The Getaway and Bullitt were films that were neither plot nor character driven, but driven instead by a tremendous feel for action and violence. Guns and intimidation set the pace of these films, and it sets the pace for The Way of the Gun.

That is not to say that the film is without good acting and writing. The dialogue is chocked full of great lines, and all concerned give very good performances. For me, the standout performances come from the old dogs: Scott Wilson, who plays rich patriarch Hale Chidduck is great to watch. Wilson has had a long and terribly underrated career, and he turns in another great supporting character role here, full of a smooth calmness that barely overlays a quivering fury. James Caan matures very nicely as Joe Sarno, aging body guard and go-to guy for Hale Chidduck; and finally Geoffrey Lewis plays Abner Mercer, an old pro sidekick to Caan and very handy with a gun (if you don't know Lewis's name, you should. I guarantee you will recognize his face).

The young dogs do nicely, too. Benicio Del Toro is hypnotic as usual and Taye Diggs is surprisingly effective as a professional gunny hired to protect and retrieve the surrogate mother. Juliette Lewis is on hand to supply the only negative in the picture, once again proving she has the God-given gift to be annoying and overact.

I recommend this film highly if you long for the days when film makers weren't so tricky and cute and realized that violent action was as viable an engine for a film as plot quirks or arty dialogue.

I reluctantly went to the theater with my husband to see "The Way of the Gun" as it was his turn to pick a film to see. I'm not your usual chick-flick kinda chick, I really appreciate good films that keep my attention and leave me wanting to talk about it afterwards (in a positive way! re: "Signs" *shudder*).

I'll admit that the title had me a bit set against it, and surely the first scene of the movie also turned me off as it was completely pointless and should have been cut from the film entirely. After that, however, is where it really begins.

I wont get into plot specifics as I see many reviews have touched on that aspect already. The first action scene where the kidnapping occured blew me away. It was unlike ANY scene I had ever seen in a film. It set the tone for the entire movie to have intense emotional drama without noise, without running or shooting blindly. It showed that these two criminals were a step above your average thug or person who "is more interested in being a criminal than wanting to commit a crime". The bodyguards also prooved to be a step above your typical bouncer thug, but rather very well trained men who entered the profession for it's strategic and competitive appeal.

I loved the old man who was hiding behind the motel with the cel-phone that just wouldn't operate. He cracked me up all the way through with the odd russian roulete to the silliest death scene ever to be shot. Him and the main Bag Man had womderful dialoge and set the tone for his obvious wisdom and experience in the life of a hitman. I liked how the older gentlemen were depicted as wise, and not as bumbling old coots.

I did not understand one part of this plot. What did Dr. Painter do? Something with an abortion? Huh?

I enjoyed the dialogue emmensely, and perhaps this is why it's appealing to women and men because it doesn't assume that you the viewer is a mindless dingleberry who is easliy bored by interesting plot and character development *ahem!*

I reluctantly went to the theater with my husband to see "The Way of the Gun" as it was his turn to pick a film to see. I'm not your usual chick-flick kinda chick, I really appreciate good films that keep my attention and leave me wanting to talk about it afterwards (in a positive way! re: "Signs" *shudder*).

I'll admit that the title had me a bit set against it, and surely the first scene of the movie also turned me off as it was completely pointless and should have been cut from the film entirely. After that, however, is where it really begins.

I wont get into plot specifics as I see many reviews have touched on that aspect already. The first action scene where the kidnapping occured blew me away. It was unlike ANY scene I had ever seen in a film. It set the tone for the entire movie to have intense emotional drama without noise, without running or shooting blindly. It showed that these two criminals were a step above your average thug or person who "is more interested in being a criminal than wanting to commit a crime". The bodyguards also prooved to be a step above your typical bouncer thug, but rather very well trained men who entered the profession for it's strategic and competitive appeal.

I loved the old man who was hiding behind the motel with the cel-phone that just wouldn't operate. He cracked me up all the way through with the odd russian roulete to the silliest death scene ever to be shot. Him and the main Bag Man had womderful dialoge and set the tone for his obvious wisdom and experience in the life of a hitman. I liked how the older gentlemen were depicted as wise, and not as bumbling old coots.

I did not understand one part of this plot. What did Dr. Painter do? Something with an abortion? Huh?

I enjoyed the dialogue emmensely, and perhaps this is why it's appealing to women and men because it doesn't assume that you the viewer is a mindless dingleberry who is easliy bored by interesting plot and character development *ahem!*

Ill skip the synopsis; everyone else seems to have laid it out well enough.
One of my favorite aspects of the film is the dialogue. This movie is full of memorable expressions; its one of the most quoteable films out there. The dialogue is short and concise, and the characters manage to carve themselves out within it. But thats not whats so remarkable about it. The cool part is, half the dialogue is unspoken. Most of the time the two protagonists dont even speak to each other, the communicate with demeanor, not so much facial expressions and body language, but they make it clear to each other and the audience exactly what theyre saying, wordlessly.
The ending may be predictable, but the closing monologue, like the rest of the script, is fantastic. And i wonder how many of you people who didnt like it, and even those who did, know whats really going on in the film. Theres a backstory here thats never quite revealed, but is fairly obvious. I suggest you all watch it again, and really watch it.

HOLLOYWOOD TURNED ITS BACK ON THIS ROGUE OF A FILM AND THAT IN ITSELF SHOULD TELL YOU ITS PRETTY GOOD.
RYAN PHILLIPS AND BENECIO DEL TORRO PLAY SMALL TIME HOODS WHO EMBARK ON A GET RICH QUICK SCHEME. THEY KIDNAP A PREGNANT YOUNG GIRL WHO IS HAVING A CHILD FOR A WEALTHY COUPLE WHO CANT.
THE TWO CROOKS SHOOT IT OUT WITH TWO EMOTIONLESS MERCENARIE TYPE BODY GUARDS EMPLOYED TO PROTECT THE YOUNG MOTHER AND HER UNBORN CHILD.
THEN THE PLOT THICKENS WITH THE RICH BABY BUYERS WHO ARE BIG TIME CROOKS. GO BETWEEN JAMES CAAN IS CALLED IN TO DEFUSE AND RECOVER. HE PLAYS WELL OFF OF THE COCKY SELF ENAMORED SECURITY GUYS. THERE ARE NUMEROUS TWISTS AND TURNS INVOLVING CONFLICTED CHARACTERS WHO ALL SEEM TO BE INNER RELATED AND OUT FOR THEMSELVES.
THE FILM CULMINATES WITH THE TWO KIDNAPPERS ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT THEIR BLOOD MONEY FROM CAAN AND HIS HENCHMEN.
THERE IS A EXCELLENT CHOREOGRAPHED SHOOTOUT IN THE COURTYARD OF A MEXICAN WHOREHOUSE.

THE ACTION TAKES CENTER STAGE IN THIS FLICK AND IS PROFESSIONALLY DONE. SCENES FROM THE FILM COULD BE USED IN MILITARY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING FILMS. WHOEVER TECH ADVISED THE GUN PLAY KNEW EXACTLY WHAT THEY WERE DOING. THIS TYPE OF TACTICAL CORRECTNESS IS RARELY SEEN IN MOTION PICTURES.

BENECIO DEL TORRO IS AN EXCELLENT ACTOR WITH A LUCRATIVE CAREER AHEAD OF HIM. CAAN IS GREAT AS ALWAYS. THESE ARE THE TYPE ROLES HE WAS BORN TO PLAY.

THERE ARE A FEW SCENES THAT SEEM OUT OF PLACE AND INNAPPROPRIATE. BUT WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SOME POOR EDITING THIS IS A WINNER AND SHOULD HAVE RECIEVED PRAISE FOR ITS DARE TO BE DIFFERENT.

It's a Western disguised as a modern-day gangster film. It is the code of the gunslinger laid upon the backbone of the code of the Bushido, the way of the samurai.

Director Christopher McQuarrie has written and directed an ultra-violent story of two veteran criminals placed in a position where morality is the path to their golden ticket and not a multi-million dollar ransom. Played ably by Benicio Del Toro and Ryan Phillippe, the two anti-heroes kidnap a surrogate mother (Juliette Lewis) carrying a baby associated to a mob family. Pursued by the elements of the mob (James Caan, Taye Diggs) the story crescendos into a Mexican standoff true to the theme of the film. "The Way Of The Gun" holds little back in the regards of violence. The style is reminiscent of "The Wild Bunch", and the gun play feels real.

In the first few moments of "The Way Of A Gun", pay particular attention to the music. True fans of the Western genre and of Spaghetti Westerns in particular will recognize the tell-tale signs of a Sergio Leone/Ennio Morricone signature tune. In the final showdown in a rundown Mexican brothel, Christopher McQuarrie has replicated the Spanish fountain plaza setting from the climax in Leone's "A Fistful Of Dollars".

McQuarrie is paying homage to the themes of redemption and salvation of anti-heroes portrayed so emphatically in the spaghetti westerns of the 60s and 70s, and also in the Japanese ronin-chambara films made famous by samurais played by Toshiro Mifune (Sanjuro) and Shintaro Katsu (Zaitoichi) in the 1960s. When Del Toro and Phillippe break their criminal code and sacrifice their escape for their kidnapped victim, much like Eastwood in Leone's "Dollar" movies and Mifune in Kurosawa's "Sanjuro" series, the good deeds of bad men go punished. Such sacrifice shows honor and courage. This is the way of the gun, the way of the samurai. Death before dishonor.

I have seen the Usual Suspect, and did not like the movie that much, so I saw the Way of the Gun and it's better then Usual suspect, but is not a great movie (note the 4 star) it should be 3 1/2 but I can not select it, so here it is 4 stars. If you like violence and swearing, you'll like this movies, but the story is a little week.

This movie really ought to be junk. The story is a very convoluted kidnapping caper, but it's also a bit stock and predictable. The violence is SO gratuitously over-the-top. And yet, and yet...IT'S A LOT OF FUN!!!

It tells the story of two really stupid hoodlums who kidnap a girl who turns out to be surrogate mother for a big-time mobster, and naturally, his henchmen are determined to get this pregnant mother back. And they far outnumber these two stupid guys in brains AND firepower. And the girl has a secret of her own that makes her even more dangerous.

But are these guys as stupid as they seem? Are they as ruthless? It's hard to tell. And that is part of the fun. The two hoods are played by Ryan Phillipe, who is the very occasional voice-over narrator of the film, and thus it's hero, I suppose. But his partner is played by Benicio del Toro, and he's GREAT. What a great look this guy has. His hair and burning eyes. He does "still waters run deep" very well.

On the other side of the fence, we've got James Caan as the chief "bag man" for the mobster, and he's very good as well. Weary but dangerous, that's him. Taye Diggs is a young bodyguard who has a few secrets of his own. Juliette Lewis (perhaps a little less annoying than usual) is the girl with the baby and the secret.

The scenes of gunplay are simple but fun. If you like your action scenes to involved lots of bullets flying and people just flat out shooting at each other, you'll be happy. It's all stylishly done, especially the grande finale in a cheap, Mexican hotel/cathouse. Lots of adobe flying everywhere, lots of great music in the background.

The movie really gets by on mood, and the fascinating Del Toro, with solid help from Caan and Phillipe. WARNING: The opening scene, which pretty much has nothing to do with the rest of the movie, is INCREDIBLY foul-mouthed, so if you don't want your kids exposed to every word in the book (makes Tarentino look tame), you may want to skip it.

This is a great DVD and a great movie.

Does anybody know what the name of the song is that plays at the end of the theatrical trailer?

I would appreciate it if anybody who knows would respond.

Thanks.