Before filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie accepted the mission four times (Mission: Impossible franchise) and before he adapted Lee Child’s nomadic former MP for the big screen (Jack Reacher (2012)), he started out with his own creation, the neo-western The Way of the Gun (2000). Led by Ryan Phillippe (Cruel Intentions) and Benicio del Toro (Snatch) as thieves attempting *the* big score, it’s a film that would establish McQuarrie as both a storyteller with the written word and visual medium, not to mention a natural at capturing stunt work — skills which would come in handy in his future. Now, for its 25th anniversary, a brand-new and first-time 4K UHD edition is available via Lionsgate’s Lionsgate Limited boutique, offering both a stylish steelbook case and two new behind-the-scenes featurettes for fans to explore.
L-R: Benicio del toro as Longbaugh and Ryan Phillippe as Mr. Parker in THE WAY OF THE GUN. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate. © 2000 Artisan Film Investors Trust. All Rights Reserved.
While in between jobs, crime partners Mr. Parker (Phillippe) and Longbaugh (del Toro) overhear someone talking about a woman being paid $1 million to work as a pregnancy surrogate and immediately devise a plan to kidnap her for ransom. What the duo can’t possibly foresee is the shitstorm they’re stepping into as double-crosses abound due to differing interests creating an inability for any one person to trust another. Their only hope is to keep their eyes on the score, but will their unflappable determination be enough to walk away with the prize?
What follows is a review of the 4K UHD steelbook retail copy provided by a Lionsgate Limited representative.
THE WAY OF THE GUN 4K UHD Steelbook exterior. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
The Lionsgate Limited editions fall into roughly two categories: repertory and new release. There’s a “Late Night Video” edition for the Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden co-directed Freaky Tales (2025) out now and an upcoming “High Tide” edition for The Surfer (2025) — two titles which released into theaters this year, as well as a 15th anniversary 4K UHD steelbook for Kick-Ass (2005), and a collector’s edition Blu-ray for May (2002). The edition for The Way of the Gun obviously falls in the repertory category and this 20th anniversary edition offers a steelbook with a slight twist: an included lenticular front on the slipcover to give the new art by Matt Taylor a sense of movement. The art design is meant to be dynamic, displaying Mr. Parker and Longbaugh firing on unseen adversaries, dressed as they are in the climactic shootout of the film. This covers the length of the front and back, the title and release information displayed only on the slipcover. The inside is simpler in design with a full-case sonogram on display, the same one that intended mother Francesca Chidduck (Kristin Lehman) strokes and stares at. The single disc included in the edition, the 4K UHD, has the title and supporting artwork styled like the cover art, though depicting the water fountain from the climax of the film. Taylor’s work is omnipresent in the packaging and gives the edition a unique feeling as neither the prior released Blu-rays or DVDs utilized the same color scheme or style. This is a step up from Kick-Ass which merely color-swapped the white of the 10th anniversary steelbook for black in the 15th anniversary steelbook, and the VHS case of Freaky Tales which doesn’t fit on conventional shelves well and the disc spindle threatens to break the disc when removing. Sometimes simple is best and offering a little bit of style can go a long way in making something gain the impression of value.
The bonus features are where things get a little wonky. The press release states that there are several legacy features carried over including feature-length audio commentary with McQuarrie and composer Joe Kraemer (The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot; Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation), an isolated music track with commentary from Kraemer, six (6) cast interviews, a TV spot, a theatrical trailer, storyboards, and a script of a deleted scene. Much of the listed legacy features are included with the 2001 DVD this reviewer already has, so, speaking as someone in favor of physical media and carryover materials, this is quite delightful; however, the storyboards and script of a deleted scene do appear to be absent from the 4K UHD Lionsgate Limited release. I’ve checked all the menu options, all the included features and they are not there. So unless they’re hiding behind a coffeehouse like Abner (Geoffrey Lewis) waiting for me to drop my guard, they are mistakenly included on the press release.
L-R: Benicio del toro as Longbaugh and Ryan Phillippe as Mr. Parker in THE WAY OF THE GUN. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate. © 2000 Artisan Film Investors Trust. All Rights Reserved.
What is worth mentioning are the two new featurettes: the 20-minute “Intention is Everything” with Art Director Thomas Meyer (Real Steel) and Production Designer Maia Javan (Into the Blue) and the eight-minute “Trigger Discipline” with Property Master Ian Roylane (John Carter). In the first, a smartly staged segment, Meyer and Javan sit together and cover how they got attached to the project and what it was like working in Utah, offer their observations of McQuarrie as a first-time director, discuss the choreography design organized between Technical/Weapons Advisor Doug McQuarrie (a Master Chief Navy SEAL) and Roylane and the staging of the ultrasound scene, note the films that influenced the look and style of the film, and provide many other tidbits. In the second, Roylane talks to us via what appears to be a Zoom call, the area around him all white, regaling us with stories about the weaponry and the way they drive the story as much as the crime thriller elements. Roylane explains things like how Doug McQuarrie took the cast for weapons training, making each character (or group of characters) operate differently to better suggest an identity and offer backstory on how they were trained through action versus exposition; talks gun safety and the steps taken to ensure all were at ease on set; describes the necessary collaboration and coordination between multiple departments (props, costume, stunts, etc.) to bring McQuarrie’s vision to life; and discusses quite a bit more. The featurette also displays the names of each gun as its mentioned as a visual comes across the screen via a film clip. In both featurettes, stories are overlaid across behind-the-scenes footage of cast and crew at work, offering a glimpse of what it was like to shoot the film in 1999.
From the press release, this 4K UHD edition was remastered by FotoKem, authored by Digital Blu, and the 4K UHD disc is 100 GB. We don’t know what source materials were provided, but Lionsgate Limited puts the names of everyone who touched this release on the purchase site. Being 100 GB is the best part as it enables the on-disc materials to have a great deal of space, reducing additional compression of the materials. From a technical perspective, the bitrate of the presentation hovers in the upper 70s/low 80s with frequent dips in to the 50s and back up. Considering that the max bitrate for a Blu-ray is 40 Mbps, this means that the on-disc presentation is roughly twice the bitrate of a Blu-ray, so this is a bit improvement from the standard definition. Though the audio commentary tracks and prior interviews are included on this edition, there’s no indication of remastering, so they likely have roughly the same SD quality as would’ve been present on the aforementioned 2001 DVD. The two new featurettes are roughly 28 minutes in length and do appear to be in HD, meaning that they’ll take up some space, reducing what the film has available to it on the disc. Now, how does this translate to the presentation itself? With the exception of a few moments in which the dialogue is quite low compared the scoring and sound effects, this is an impressive remaster. The sound is immersive, an important quality given the number of shootouts, enabling the drama inherent in who lives and who dies to be much more palatable. The film itself is neither hyper-washed in colors nor muted, opting for quite a bit of naturalism, even in the most beige-afflicted sequences, so the HDR more-so enhances the already existing natural perspective of Dick Pope’s (The Outfit) cinematography. That said, especially compared to the 2001 DVD, the 4K UHD possesses a great deal more detail and improves the overall watch. The art direction and set design are more noticeable, the audience able to see the details that make the cramped hotel room Mr. Parker, Longbaugh, and pregnant woman Robin (Juliette Lewis) hold up in feel even more confined. Likewise, the location for the shootout at the end appears more brownish-red on the interior as though it’s seen some bloodshed prior to the skirmish that takes place, in stark contrast to the oddly cool blueish-whites of the exterior (despite being out in the heat of day).
THE WAY OF THE GUN 4K UHD Steelbook interior. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
Interestingly, the first time I watched this film was on DVD (not the one referenced in the review) in 2002/2003 my senior year of undergrad. I knew the cast from other work and the trailer made it seem dynamic, so, having a movie night with friends, I checked it out. Since then, we’ve quoted lines from the opening sequence with Sarah Silverman’s Raving Bitch (actual listed character name) more than anything else, the incredible absurdity of it from the collective dialogue to the way in which Mr. Parker and Longbaugh just get torn up by the crowd sticking with me. Older and more knowledgeable in film now, I can also see where McQuarrie leaned hard on his performers (as he frequently does now) to make the internal external, communicating conflicts or shared experiences without having to resort to a great deal of dialogue. This works in the film’s favor here, with its neo-western styling, as there’s so much that we come to know about Mr. Parker and Longbaugh merely by what the actors do say and how they move. The Lionsgate Limited synopsis describes the duo as “petty criminals,” which they very well may be, but, at the same time, it’s clear that both are military trained from the way they provide cover, utilize space, and manage their weapons. As Roylane explains in his featurette, James Caan’s Sarno’s use of a Smith & Wesson Model 640 Centennial – .357 Magnum due to its simplicity and reliability speaks to the kind of person he is and the way he operates, just as the way both criminals reload their weapons single-handed, moving the slide to chamber a round with expert precision, tells us about them. Does their plan go absolutely sideways? Oh yeah — they’re clearly not mastermind criminals, but their evasion techniques when they first kidnap Robin do demonstrate tactical training and quick thinking. Heck, if not for the way they are out-gunned and out-maneuvered in the finale, they just might’ve had a chance. These little details make the world of The Way of the Gun feel realistic, which helps as there’re so many twists, turns, and double-crosses that the duo must contend with that the film itself starts to droop under the weight of everything so the details help keep the audience invested where a trimmer runtime might’ve done the same.
L-R: Ryan Phillippe as Mr. Parker and Benicio del toro as Longbaugh in THE WAY OF THE GUN. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate. © 2000 Artisan Film Investors Trust. All Rights Reserved.
Final Recommendation:
If you’re a fan of The Way of the Gun and don’t already have a Blu-ray, the $35 retail cost may be well worth it. You’ll get improved sound and picture, plus two additional featurettes at the cost of losing two others. The case and its slipcover are stylish, so there’s a sense of added value for collectors and fans alike. It’s hard to tell yet if Lionsgate Limited titles will go on sale through other retailers, but there was a 2025 Father’s Day sale for select films and The Way of the Gun seems like a natural inclusion for next year. With that in mind, this is an edition that I’d recommend only if the above describes you. If you’ve not seen it or own the Blu-ray and are happy with that experience, don’t jump here. It’s not so much that this edition is a premium experience, which it does seek to offer, it’s that costs being what they are, the Blu-ray will likely still do the job.
The Way of the Gun 4K UHD Steelbook Special Features:
4K UHD Steelbook Features:
- The Way of the Gun in 4K, featuring Dolby Vision®
- New SteelBook® art by Matt Taylor
- Intention Is Everything (20:50)
- Trigger Discipline (8:41)
Legacy Special Features:
- Audio Commentary with Writer-Director Christopher McQuarrie and Composer Joe Kraemer
- Isolated Music Track with Commentary by Composer Joe Kraemer
- Cast Interviews with Ryan Phillippe, Benicio del Toro, Juliette Lewis, Taye Diggs, Nicky Katt, and James Caan
- TV Spot
- Theatrical Trailer
- Available on 4K UHD Blu-ray steelbook June 17th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Lionsgate Limited The Way of the Gun webpage.
Share this:
Categories: Home Release, Recommendation
Leave a Reply