The Way of the Gun | Bad Men and Bad Decisions
- Forgotten Cinema
- 11h
- 2 min read
This week on Forgotten Cinema, we’re revisiting The Way of the Gun, Christopher McQuarrie’s sharp, character-driven crime thriller and his first time in the director’s chair. We both really enjoy this one.
From the start, the film makes it clear what kind of story it wants to tell: this is not about misunderstood antiheroes or “bad guys with a heart of gold.” Benicio Del Toro and Ryan Phillippe play two genuinely bad men. Criminals who are unapologetically who they are.
The movie doesn’t try to redeem them or smooth them out for audience comfort, and that commitment to morally compromised leads gives the film a harder edge than most crime thrillers of its era.
Performances with Real Teeth
Del Toro and Phillippe bring a weary, lived-in quality to their characters that makes them compelling even when you don’t like them. And then there’s James Caan, who walks into the movie and immediately brings a level of gravitas and menace that elevates every scene he’s in. He doesn’t need big speeches, only his presence, his posture, and a few carefully chosen lines.
It’s a film full of people who feel dangerous without ever slipping into cartoonish territory.
McQuarrie Behind the Camera
As a directorial debut, The Way of the Gun is remarkably confident. McQuarrie’s script is tight and deliberate, with sharp dialogue that never feels like it’s showing off, and action that’s grounded, messy, and tense. The characters always feel true to themselves, even when they’re making terrible decisions, which are quite a few.
Butler suspects that younger him would have absolutely loved this movie, and honestly, he probably would have quoted it relentlessly. Field finds himself appreciating it even more now; the film’s maturity, restraint, and refusal to spoon-feed the audience make it more compelling with age.
The Way of the Gun: A Dark, Adult Crime Story
The Way of the Gun is dark, deliberate, and unapologetically adult. It’s not trying to be cool for the sake of it. It’s interested in what happens when bad people collide with each other, with desperate people, and with situations that have no clean outcomes.
In a sea of crime thrillers that soften their edges or rush toward redemption, this one stands out for staying true to its characters all the way through.
It’s easily one of the stronger crime films of the early 2000s and a reminder of just how effective simple, character-focused storytelling can be when you trust the audience to keep up.
Comments