Greetings again from the darkness. The bar has been set with buddy flicks that mix comedy and action … Lethal Weapon and 48 Hours. The vast majority, including this one, fall short even while blatantly copying many elements from those classics. Guns blazing, rapid-fire repartee and huge explosions are requirements in this genre, as is an on screen bond between the two leads.
The good news is that instead of the original (tired) pairing of Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, we get Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg. Denzel plays the straight man role just fine, but Wahlberg is way over the top. He is in his typical strained-too loud-frenzied talking mode that just comes across as trying too hard. Instead of a truckin’ t-shirt, he should have worn one that said ‘kiss me I’m cute and funny’.
For some reason, most of these movies make the vital mistake of not providing a fully developed and menacing villain. Somehow the script manages to waste the great Edward James Olmos as a drug lord. He does what he can with what he’s given, but it’s frustrating to see him become the punchline of lame joke. Bill Paxton seems to be the only one who was given much to work with in the script and he chews the scenery every chance he gets. We also get a quick scene with Fred Ward and I think we would all rather have more from him here and less from the generic James Marsden. Of course, all of these movies require the presence of a female and in this case we get Paula Patton, who 
not only suffers through horrific dialogue, but also some absurd gratuitous nudity.
As you might guess from the trailer, corruption and double-crosses abound, and the Denzel/Wahlberg duo produces a few sparks, but this script based on the Boom! graphic novel just doesn’t hold up for a feature length movie. Icelandic director Baltasar Kurmakur, whose previous outing was the ultra-serious action drama Contraband (also with Wahlberg) falls victim to the weak dialogue and inconsistent villainy.
SEE THIS MOVIE IF: you fall for Wahlberg’s “charms” OR your preferences leans towards Tango and Cash style
SKIP THIS MOVIE IF: a juicy villain and smart dialogue is a requirement for your enjoyment of action-comedies
watch the trailer:
Movie Reviews from the Dark 
Okay, I like all the performers but since I’ve always found your reviews reliable, I’ll wait for the Blue Ray version or Netflix, whichever comes first. I probably would have anyway, no pressure David.
Yeah, right … that is a lot of pressure!!! It’s mindless entertainment, but I always get a little frustrated when it seems the filmmakers got a bit lazy. I wanted more. That said, Bill Paxton is a hoot!