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.

The movie was written, produced, and starred Curtis 50 cents Jackson as a Detroit gun dealer. In the first scene there is a strip joint with pole dancers who keep their clothes on. A hit is done outside the joint as Jackson kills his competition in the drug trade. The Mexican Cartels need lots of high powered guns, which Jackson claims he will provide. His connection is the pretty Annalynne McCord who also has sex with Jackson, the author of the script. Meanwhile Val Kilmer is being released from prison and goes to work for Jackson, a man who he once saved in a street shoot out. Danny Trejo is on the screen for about 3 minutes, nothing to write home about.

The cops along with their rival, the ATF are after the gun dealers. Their role was done rather poorly while the thugs was done well, a reflection of what 50 cents really knows well. Hip-hop background music, no surprise. No nudity, quick sex scene, multiple MF and F bombs.

This movie was very hard to watch. This plot has been done time and again. It is shocking that such good actors chose to be in a movie with such a bad script. The cinematography and direction were beyond cliché in terms of the sequencing of scenes, flashbacks and angles. Fifty Cent may be good at writing rap tunes but he is certainly not a screen play writer. While it is good to want to expand one's repertoire, perhaps he should take some classes before attempting to do something like this again. I terms of the acting, it is squeamish to have to watch good actors deliver bad lines (with straight faces). I often wondered if they wanted to burst out laughing at certain parts. I suppose that is what they are paid for but it is still hard to watch. I don't recommend this movie at all. Waste of time that you will never get back in your life.