Gun

I think I die a little inside every time I see Val Kilmer do another crappy straight to video movie. He still has flashes of the kind of actor he once was, 'Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang,' and 'Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans' are a couple fine examples. Still, he rears his head in so many straight to video movies these days that I've lost count. Here's another one to add to his ever-growing list.

'Gun' starring Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson (who also penned the script) is about a city where gun trafficking has run rampant. Rich (Jackson) is the resident gun runner. He talks a big game, and backs it up by looking menacing when he's holding his boom-boom stick only inches away from a rival's face.

Angel (Kilmer) has just gotten out of prison (one where the meal portions seem to have been quite generous). He knows Rich from the old days. He even helped save Rich's life once. This is why Rich so readily welcomes Angel back into his fold. In the world of gun-running you've got to keep the information about your suppliers and your inventory under close wraps, so we can understand why Rich's colleagues are wary when letting in an outsider. Rich also has the FBI and ATF sneaking around, taking pictures of him and tailing his cars.

Can't you already tell where the movie is going from here? From those two paragraphs you've got to know exactly what's going to happen during this movie. Don't worry I didn't spoil anything for you, but the movie's so predictable that you'll be able to figure it out pretty fast.

Without an original bone in its body, 'Gun' goes through the paces of a police procedural. There's never a time where we end up thinking, hey this might end up being an interesting movie. Even a brief Danny Trejo cameo couldn't improve my spirits. If only he appeared as Machete, then he could have dispatched all the inane people on screen and done something fun with this movie.

As far as I can tell, this movie was created for the sole purpose of giving Curtis Jackson a starring role where he's able to look intimidating while holding gigantic guns. Oh, and so he could create all the music for the movie's thumping soundtrack.

'Gun' isn't so bad that you'll be angry after watching it. Instead it's a banal gangster drama that fails to achieve much of anything. Its predictability bogs it down, and the word flat doesn't even begin to describe the insipid characters on screen. Fat, on the other hand, might describe one of them.

Just another straight to video release that's not worth your time or energy to pick up. I just want to know what happened to Val Kilmer. What happened to you man? Look at yourself! Playing second fiddle to 50 Cent? I never thought you'd sink so low.

The 1080p AVC encoded Blu-ray presentation of 'Gun' is a murky, muddled affair. Color seems washed out, even during the brightest of scenes. Fine detail never reaches optimum levels. Even during close ups, facial detail is soft and unrefined. AnnaLynne McCord's skin looks so even it almost seems airbrushed. That may be a testament to her amazingly smooth skin, or more than likely it's due to the soft photography that persists throughout the movie.

Darker scenes are even worse. Shadow delineation is muddy and unresolved. Crushing persists throughout the movie. There are even a few times, like when a van pulls into a warehouse late at night, that the image is hampered by light vertical lines (almost barcode-like) that extend from one side of the image to the other. These instances happen infrequently, but when they happen you'll notice it. I did notice some noise off and on as specks and flecks pop up occasionally. As for artifacting like blocking or banding, I didn't see any of those problems come up.

The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix is built for gunshots and hip-hop music, and that's about it. It's not a very balanced track, leaving the actual dialogue of the film in the background, oft times getting lost in the commotion.

LFE is inordinately loud and abrasive. It's been cranked up to thump out the bass beats of 50 Cent's soundtrack, and rattle the walls with every blast of a high-caliber rifle. The problem is that it doesn't mesh with the rest of the mix. The movie, for the most part, is fairly talkative. When you don't have your focus on the lines being spoken from the characters on screen then you have a problem. Too much attention was focused on making the soundtrack bump and the various gunshots boom.

• Trailer — This is the only feature offered on the disc.

50 Cent has his fingers in so many pies now, it's hard to tell if he's even primarily a rapper anymore. After penning this script and starring in his own movie I would suggest he not quit his day job. 'Gun' is a lackadaisical effort at best. The entire movie is utterly predictable, and doesn't ever engage the viewer. The video is marginal at best and the audio seems to have its priorities askew. With no special features – except a trailer – I recommend you avoid this one.