Found this movie on cable last night, watched the opening minutes and, next thing I knew, I was in for the whole ride.  And an interesting one it was!

Vincent Moon (Ice-T) summons a very large group of criminals, killers, and general no-good-nicks to a just built -but until these criminals arrive deserted- prison on the verge of being opened and tells them the place has been locked down and, before the day is done, they must fight their way through each other until only 3 are left.  The prize for survival?  10 million dollars.

Following telling the group this, boxes filled with all manner of guns/weapons are thrown at the group’s feet.  Then, boxes full of bullets.

Let the games…begin!

Mean Guns proved a fascinating watch.  Pre-dating the film version of Battle Royale (a film which, in turn, one could argue “inspired” The Hunger Games) by three years, it is a stylish (!) “B” action film.  There is plenty of death but nothing I would consider terribly graphic.  There’s also great use of music and clever direction, along with at times very humorous dialogue, which keeps you into the film despite its obvious low budget.

What I also liked is the film doesn’t really have a single “protagonist”.  For much of the film we’re essentially following two groups of combatants.  The first, primary group, consists of -eventually- four people, two men and two women, led by Christopher Lambert’s on the edge Lou.  Mr. Lambert, as usual, brings it to the table.  He’s one of those actors who, even in terrible films, is always worth watching.  While his presence may suggest he’s the “hero” of the piece, the filmmakers wisely keep his motivations closely guarded until the end.

Within that group is also Cam (Deborah Van Valkenburgh), the one woman who doesn’t appear to fit into the scenario at all.  She isn’t a killer and, it would also appear, isn’t much of a criminal either.

The secondary group we follow consists of two hitmen whose banter is quite humorous and who, in time, link up to a female criminal…one who is very wily even if she spends most of the film without a weapon.

I don’t want to give away too much more but I will say this much: The film’s conclusion provides a good reason for why this whole exercise was initiated by the seemingly deranged Vincent Moon and, further, gives us an ending that makes a twisted kind of sense.

Unlike Battle Royale or The Hunger Games, these group of “contestants” are far from an innocent bunch so we are not shocked or horrified when they fall…and yet there is no denying we also -perversely- root for one or the other’s “success” even if we know they are ultimately almost all very, very bad people.

Considering this is an almost forgotten film, I was surprised by Mean Guns.  It ain’t Citizen Kane but it is an enjoyable action flick.

Recommended.