Rating: 
Summary: Horrible
Review: 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!
Rating: 
Summary: CLASSIC!!!
Review: This is truly a classic!It is writer/director Christopher McQuarrie's astonishing film debut.McQuarrie was the man behind the story of "The Usual Suspects". The film follows two partners in crime "Parker"(Ryan Phillippe) and "Longbaugh" (Benicio Del Toro).They'll do anything to get their hands on some cash.So while donating sperm in a sperm bank they over hear a conversation about a girl, Robin (Juliette Lewis) who's a surrogate mother of a wealthy couple.The girl is getting paid 1 million dollars for doing it.The couple tell the girl what to eat, when to go out, and there's bodyguards watching her every minute, Jeffers (Taye Diggs) and Obecks (Nicky Katt). "Parker and "Longbaugh" hear the doctor's name who is involved with Robin's check-ups, Dr Allen Painter (Dylan Kussman).They find out where his hospital is and await Robin's arrival. There's a superb shoot-out between "Parker", "Longbaugh" and the two bodyguards.As a result of this P+L leave with the girl and demand a ransom of 15 million dollars. Everything you could imangine goes disastrously wrong.This film has everything including a great cast, good story, good lines,great and funny characters, great action sequences, especially at the end.This film is just pure,sheer brilliance!
Rating:
Summary: The've got to be kidding...
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Great Film Noir Type Movie...!
Review: Christopher McQuarrie's directorial debut in this film which he also wrote. Of Chris is the winner of a Best Screenplay Academy Award for his script of "the Usual Suspects". While not as mind boggling as Suspects, Way of the Gun is a gritty feature with plot twists, superb dialog, and as the title suggests, some great shoot-outs. This is probably the best performance Ryan Phillippe has ever given. And of course as in everything he does, Benicio Del Toro is great. Even James Caan gives a good role as a bagman out to get the pair. Basically Phillippe and Del Toro are two end of the line thugs with expert gun skills with nothing to lose. They kidnap the surrogate mother of a baby for a rich couple, who are tied to organised crime. This is one of the best films of 2000!
Rating:
Summary: excellent movie
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Under The Gun
Review: After the success of his script for Bryan Singer's The Usual Suspects and all that came with it, Christopher McQuarrie decided to pull double duty, writing and directing The Way Of The Gun. The end result is a bit of a surprise in more ways than one.
Two professional criminals, Parker (Ryan Phillippe) and Longbaugh (Benicio Del Toro), think they've came up with a fullproof plan to earn some quiick cash. Their idea involves the kidnapping of Robin (Juliette Lewis), a pregnant surrogate mother, then collect on the ransom money from the parents-to-be. However, things get more complicated, as Parker begins to develop feelings for the kidnapping victim. As if that weren't bad enough, a group of heavily armed mob hit men arrive with the ransom money, ready to take control of a situation already spiraling out of control.
The first thing that struck me about the film is how predictable the script turned out to be. The twists and turns of the story were far too easy to spot. I would have expected the movie not to be a cookie cutter script--given who wrote it. On the technical side the film fares better. It's a good loking piece of cinema that has lots to like. The action is well staged and all of that. The cast does ok but deserves better material to work with. Poor James Cann, who yet again plays off of the persona he created in The Godfather, could play this role blindfolded with one hand tied behind his back. It's almost as if McQuarrie wanted to make sure he could direct his own film, therefore, he let the script go by the wayside. There is plenty to draw your attention in the film, but, the finished product still doesn't equal the sum of its parts.
The DVD has two audio commentary tracks. The first features McQuarrie and score composer Joe Kraemer. The track is very good and was worth a listen, this despite, my problems with the film itself. The second track, an isolated music track with sparse comments from the composer, is sort of a waste---as far as the Kraemer comments are concerned. He could have accomplished more on the first track--and did. The cast and crew sat dowwn for a few interviews that say things that you hear on most press tours. There's a couple storyboards and script excerpts of a deleted scene. It proves my earlier point about script vs direction. Production notes, additional cast and crew information, and the theatrical trailer, tops off the disc's bonus material.
The Way Of The Gun is one film with a split personality. It's worth your time for many reasons. It's just a shame that the script didn't undergo a few more rewrites
Rating: 
Summary: Not The Usual Suspects
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: CHRISTOPHER MCQUARRIE TRIED TO MADE A CLEVER FILM, BUT...
Review: "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.
Rating:
Summary: Horrible
Review: 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!
Rating:
Summary: Worth it for Sara Silverman
Review: 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.
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