Two criminal drifters without sympathy get more than they bargained for after kidnapping and holding for ransom the surrogate mother carrying a baby for a powerful, shady man.Two criminal drifters without sympathy get more than they bargained for after kidnapping and holding for ransom the surrogate mother carrying a baby for a powerful, shady man.Two criminal drifters without sympathy get more than they bargained for after kidnapping and holding for ransom the surrogate mother carrying a baby for a powerful, shady man.
Armando Guerrero
- Federale #1
- (as Mando Guerrero)
Jan Hanks
- Receptionist
- (as Jan Jensen)
José Pérez
- ?
- (as Jose Perez)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe unusual car chase scenes after the kidnapping were Benicio Del Toro's idea. He suggested this to writer and director Christopher McQuarrie after watching Cops (1989), where a couple of criminals did the same when cops were chasing them.
- GoofsThe shape and size of the bandage (and the blood thereon) above Dr. Parker's right eye while he's in the truck stop restroom talking to Parker and Longbaugh.
- Crazy creditsHenry Griffin is listed as P. Whipped. He is the guy whose girlfriend is yelling at Parker and Longbaugh and ends up fighting them, thus he is "P[ussy] Whipped."
- Alternate versionsIn Germany, a FSK-16 version was released and was cut. An FSK-18 uncut version was also released.
Featured review
What I fail to understand is why if "The Usual Suspects" was so incredibly popular (because it was so freakin' good), "The Way of the Gun" gets stepped on, both at the box office upon its initial release, and in various, snarky IMDb user comments.
This movie isn't just good. It's INTENSE. It's DARK. There's not a single character in the movie who's likable, and some viewers attack that like it's a bad thing. The story line is complex, the relationships between the numerous characters are subtle and nuanced; and still, some viewers attack that like that's a bad thing.
Just because a viewer doesn't understand something, doesn't make the film bad. It's a difference of opinion, absolutely, but that doesn't make "The Way of the Gun" a bad film. Au contraire, this is a very smart film... and when a filmmaker is making a smart film about amoral, gun-toting outlaws, the people who come to see that sort of movie are going to feel confused and angry. Because they wanted it to be simple. They wanted easy answers, a clear-cut good guy and bad guy, and a happy ending. The way movies have gone since film noir faded away, decades ago.
But this film is not so simple, and neither are the characters within it, nor is the plot. Chris McQuarrie refuses to write something so cut-and-dry, so black-and-white. It's taut, it's tight, it rides a bad vibe from the opening sequence all the way down to the last line. This film is so gritty it makes me feel dirty after watching it... McQuarrie may be a victim of his own success, because it was released in the aftermath of "The Usual Suspects," but if it built up an underground following like "The Killer," it would be on the shelf of must-haves next to John Woo, Guy Ritchie and any other art film your parents wouldn't approve of.
Every character has his own motive, has his own backstory, and not all are necessarily spelled out for you. The dialogue is wound so tight, it snaps: "Fifteen million dollars is not money. It's a motive, with a universal adapter on it."
I own this movie, and on a dark, rainy afternoon, I'll whip it out on the unsuspecting guest... "It's from the writer of 'The Usual Suspects'" I tell them. And from the opening scene, they're INTO IT.
It's not for everyone. But don't you dare call it a bad film. This is where YOUR favorite filmmaker steals all of his ideas.
This movie isn't just good. It's INTENSE. It's DARK. There's not a single character in the movie who's likable, and some viewers attack that like it's a bad thing. The story line is complex, the relationships between the numerous characters are subtle and nuanced; and still, some viewers attack that like that's a bad thing.
Just because a viewer doesn't understand something, doesn't make the film bad. It's a difference of opinion, absolutely, but that doesn't make "The Way of the Gun" a bad film. Au contraire, this is a very smart film... and when a filmmaker is making a smart film about amoral, gun-toting outlaws, the people who come to see that sort of movie are going to feel confused and angry. Because they wanted it to be simple. They wanted easy answers, a clear-cut good guy and bad guy, and a happy ending. The way movies have gone since film noir faded away, decades ago.
But this film is not so simple, and neither are the characters within it, nor is the plot. Chris McQuarrie refuses to write something so cut-and-dry, so black-and-white. It's taut, it's tight, it rides a bad vibe from the opening sequence all the way down to the last line. This film is so gritty it makes me feel dirty after watching it... McQuarrie may be a victim of his own success, because it was released in the aftermath of "The Usual Suspects," but if it built up an underground following like "The Killer," it would be on the shelf of must-haves next to John Woo, Guy Ritchie and any other art film your parents wouldn't approve of.
Every character has his own motive, has his own backstory, and not all are necessarily spelled out for you. The dialogue is wound so tight, it snaps: "Fifteen million dollars is not money. It's a motive, with a universal adapter on it."
I own this movie, and on a dark, rainy afternoon, I'll whip it out on the unsuspecting guest... "It's from the writer of 'The Usual Suspects'" I tell them. And from the opening scene, they're INTO IT.
It's not for everyone. But don't you dare call it a bad film. This is where YOUR favorite filmmaker steals all of his ideas.
- How long is The Way of the Gun?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $8,500,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $6,055,661
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,150,979
- Sep 10, 2000
- Gross worldwide
- $13,200,972
- Runtime1 hour 59 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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