Stars: Benicio Del Toro, Ryan Phillippe, James Caan, Juliette Lewis, Taye Diggs, Nicky Katt, Scott Wilson, Cameron Diaz, Cameron Diaz

Director: Christopher McQuarrie

Summary: Robin is to be paid one million dollars to be a surrogate mother for a wealthy, childless couple. She is kidnapped by two small time criminals who demand a large ransom from the couple for the safe arrival of both mother and child. Soon the kidnappers realise that they are out of their depth...

Two professional criminals, Parker (Ryan Phillippe) and Longbaugh (Benicio Del Toro), think they've devised the plan of a lifetime: Kidnap Robin (Juliette Lewis), a pregnant surrogate mother, then collect on the ransom money from the parents-to-be. However, when Parker begins to take a shine to the kidnapping victim, the plan begins to crumble. But it is not until a heavily armed group of mob hit men arrive with the ransom money that Parker and Longbaugh realize they've cooked up a spicy stew of chaos, violence, and confusion. The unborn baby tops it off, making Christopher McQuarrie's THE WAY OF THE GUN a terrifically tense nail-biter.

WIN DVDs by rating this DVD

Average User Rating:

WIN DVDS by being amongst the first to review this DVD. Reviewing DVDs earns you bonus entries and lets you WIN DVDs!Please login before reviewing this DVD. If you're a new user, register for free and enter to WIN FREE DVDs!

From the opening scene of Way of the Gun, writer and first time director Christopher McQuarrie (who also penned Academy Award winner The Usual Suspects) plays with the audience's allegiances: the guys who would be heroes (Benicio Del Torro and Ryan Phillippe) are immediately shown to have qualities which make us hesitate in supporting their cause--they punch women in the face. Del Torro and Phillippe are criminals and chancers. During a trip to a clinic to donate sperm (for a fee, natch), they prick up their ears when they overhear a conversation about a surrogate mother and her very wealthy sponsors. Soon they have kidnapped heavily pregnant Robyn (Juliette Lewis) and made off towards Mexico to wait out the rest of the gestation period. Inevitably, complications arise. What they don't realise is that would-be father, Hale Chidduck (Scott Wilson) is a criminal overlord whose many employees are determined not to see their master lose his money or his baby. James Caan plays Chidduck's right-hand man with avuncular charm. Like McQuarrie's earlier Usual Suspectsscript, this pacey yarn is full of complex twists and turns, with all manner of visual clues given in a look or a gesture. These subtleties and the squeak-and-you'll-miss-it dialogue keep audience involvement at a high level. The film is also full of beautifully put together set pieces edited with precision and wit--most memorable are a suspenseful low speed car chase and the shoot out at the film's climax. All these elements almost make you forget that you don't ultimately feel very emotionally involved with any of the characters: they're all on the make, but Del Torro was a bit of inspired casting, because there's just something about his eyes which makes you root for him whatever.

On the DVD. "I wanted to violate every rule of the sympathetic character" says McQuarrie in his humorous, irreverent and highly entertaining DVD commentary. The cast interviews included on this disc are disappointingly brief with irritating banner headlines introducing each point the interviewee makes. The biographies are adequate but hardly expansive, and although the director's commentary is highly entertaining, taken as a whole the disc's special features are nothing to write home about. --Emma Perry

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Directors And Composers Commentary, Isolated Music Score With Composers Commentary, Cast Interviews, Theatrical Trailer, Cast And Crew Biographies
Year:	2000
Release Date:	March 17, 2003
Runtime:	114 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	M P 017 D
Label:	Take One Collection
Keywords:	Way, General, Gun, Thriller
Genre:	Thriller