Gun Monkeys (2023)
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2025-09 to 2026-08
A retired hitman must navigate a web of betrayal and revenge after a botched job leads to a violent power struggle between rival mob bosses.
The story
Charlie Swift is a retired Marine Corps Officer living in Biloxi, Mississippi, who has spent twenty years as a fixer and hitman for a mob boss named Stan Mullen. When a botched hit on a man named Rollo Kramer leads to a violent confrontation with a rival boss from New Orleans named Beggar, Charlie finds himself caught in a dangerous power struggle. After discovering that Beggar has wiped out Stan's gang and left a body behind, Charlie decides to take revenge. He must navigate a series of dangerous encounters, seeking out evidence of Beggar's illegal dealings while trying to protect those close to him.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The film begins with Charlie stripping down at a car junkyard, narrating his past. Years prior, Charlie was a hitman for Stan Mullen. He was tasked with killing Rollo Kramer, but a clumsy partner named Blade caused a chaotic accident, destroying Rollo's body. To satisfy the rival boss Beggar, Charlie had to forge a tattoo on a new body and deliver it. However, tensions rose when Beggar wiped out Stan's gang. After finding a body near Stan's bed, Charlie seeks revenge. He discovers that Rollo had an FBI evidence CD detailing Beggar's illegal deals. Charlie teams up with Marcie, Rollo's ex-wife, to find the CD. They are hunted by Beggar's strongest enforcer, Lloyd. In a final confrontation, Charlie crashes a car to kill Lloyd, then rescues Marcie from Beggar. Charlie reveals to Sal that Beggar has been a rat. Milt shoots Beggar, and Charlie eventually retires to Tuscany with Marcie, while Stan is revealed to be alive as 'Mr. Green'.
- First release year
- 2023
- Runtime (minutes)
- 90
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Phillip Noyce
- Writers
- Richard Wenk · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Pierce Brosnan; Morena Baccarin; James Caan; Gbenga Akinnagbe; Toby Huss; Jacob Grodnik; Sharon Gless
- Genres
- action; crime; thriller; Southern noir
- Themes
- revenge; organized crime; betrayal
- Tone and mood
- noir; violent
- Premise and plot tags
- revenge; contract killing; organized crime
- Source material / true-story basis
- Gun Monkeys by Victor Gischler
- Reception
- The film received generally favorable reviews from critics.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 65 · scale: 100
- Production trivia
- James Caan's final film role was in this movie.; The film was based on a 2001 pulp novel.; Filming took place in New Orleans.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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