Mario Van Peebles is cast as Cole Parker, a DEA agent in Mexico, who busts kooky smuggler Dani Servigo (Christopher Lambert) out of prison. Why has he done this? Because Dani's brother Karl was an associate of drug kingpin Loomis (Patrick Stewart) who absconded with the kingpins' $400 million fortune, and he thinks that Karl may have given Dani information as to the whereabouts of the money. Cole is also on a mission to find out who killed his father. Meanwhile, Loomis has sent an even worse bad guy, hired gun Armor O'Malley (Denis Leary), after the two of them.
"Gunmen" was an early screenwriting credit for future director Stephen Sommers, who went on to make big studio efforts like "Deep Rising", "The Mummy" (1999), and "The Mummy Returns". Here, you could already see that action and violence with a generous dose of humour was part of his style. The director of this one is Deran Sarafian, whose future credits include "Terminal Velocity" and lots of TV work. Deran casts his father, veteran filmmaker Richard Sarafian (best known for "Vanishing Point" himself), in a brief role as Van Peebles' superior.
Mostly, this is routine stuff, albeit reasonably funny, action-packed, and very swift (it clocks in at 92 minutes). The soundtrack is enjoyable, and the flick does have a suitably gritty look going for it. It's also full of violence, but not that much actual gore.
The main value lies in this cast, although Stewart doesn't get to leave much of an impression. He's been better utilized in other projects. Leary really is the main villain of the piece, and he's in fine form. The enticing Brenda Bakke is quite easy to watch as one of Leary's gang. Van Peebles is fine, but doesn't have a particularly great character to play. Lambert gets to have more fun; he always seems to be at his best when he gets to play an off the wall role. He and Van Peebles do make for an entertaining team. Kadeem Harrison has his moments as a talkative pilot, but much like Stewart, Sally Kirkland is wasted in a brief part as a gun runner. You may also recognize Robert Harper, who was crate monster fodder in "Creepshow", as a DEA agent. A handful of rap stars appear onscreen performing (Doctor Dre, Ed Lover, Eric B. & Rakim, etc.). Deran Sarafian himself has a small role as Bishop.
"Gunmen" entertains adequately for action-movie fans, with some standout moments along the way, such as a recurring motif of characters being buried alive.
Six out of 10.
