The generically entitled African-American actioneer "Gun" qualifies as a potboiler at best, boasting a solid cast, some tolerable gunfights, profane dialogue exchanges, and atmospheric shots of Detroit. The surprises are few and far between, but "Freelancers" director Jessy Terrero doesn't linger needlessly on the obvious. Payback is indeed a bitch, and nobody can say that "Gun" doesn't punish its perpetrators and reward its heroes. A paunchy Val Kilmer plays Angel, an ex-con whose wife died in a strip club during a shoot-out instigated by Rich (Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson), so Angel turns into a confidential informant for veteran Motor City Detective Rogers (James Remar of "The Warriors") who is trying to bust him. Detective Jenkins (Paul Calderon of "Pulp Fiction") is at Rogers' side trying to take care of business despite budget cuts that the city imposes on the men in blue. Initially, Angel proves his worth to Rich during a night-time deal with an Hispanic gangster, Frankie Makina (Danny Trejo of "Machete"), who tries to pull a double-cross during a deal. Lurking in the background is a big-time mobster, Sam Boedecker John Larroquette of "Blind Date") who is searching for an arms dealer. One of the best scenes has Rich describing an arsenal of hardware to a criminal. The guns that he shows off are pretty impressive, particularly the weapon that fires slug that can penetrate Kelvar as if it were tin-foil. Nothing special but a good way to blow 82 minutes.
