'Gun,' which was written by Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson and directed by the guy who did 'Soul Plane' (need I say more?), tells the story the city of Detroit's crackdown on a gun-running organization run by the criminal Rich (Fitty Cent). Rich then teams up with his friend Angel (Val Kilmer) to expand business. This leads to even more problems beyond his business. . .
First things first, most people will be drawn to this film based on the supporting cast. While Val Kilmer is on a serious run of crap movies (joining the ranks of formerly talented stars like Cuba Gooding, Jr.), he still maintains at least a mild following, even if his last solid flick was 'Déjà Vu' a half-decade ago (okay, 'Felon' was also pretty good, so I'll let that pass as well). Alongside Kilmer, 'Gun' also includes a few other well known actors like John Larroquette, James Remar, & Danny Trejo (though Remar is the only one of the bunch who is featured enough throughout). Regardless of the reasonably notable cast, 'Gun' doesn't have a lot to offer. Now, it's not the total disaster that one would expect from the writer/director combination. Keep in mind, 50 Cent grew up in a life of crime with a teenage coke dealer for a mother (who was murdered when 50 was only twelve), and his own time as a dealer in both guns & drugs before he became a rapper. Therefore, he's pretty well versed in street crime, so he knows how to set up a realistic story about it. Unfortunately, even though the story does have the gritty realism of the Detroit crime world. . . it's just not implemented well by director Jessy Terrero at all. Not to mention that the overall story is completely overdone and the "twists" are anything but shocking from the early parts of the film. This makes for a bit of a lag in the thrills of the crime, and a total lack of surprise by the end.
Overall, the film isn't a complete & utter disaster. The story is interesting enough to maintain interest, but the director's failure to fully exploit the dark themes forced the film to fail. To be honest, a story chronicling 50 Cent's ridiculous life story seems like it'd be a hell of a lot more interesting than any of the movies he stars in.
Final Verdict: 5/10.
-AP3-
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