There's a split-second in the new Guns Up trailer—a blink, a dad-joke, a snap of gunfire—when you realize something's off. Not in the bad way. In the “wait, is that Paul Blart firing an AR-15?” way. Kevin James, always a man built for misadventure (and bulk warehouse khakis), suddenly has the angles of a bruised hero. It's funny. And oddly sincere.
Mark your calendars: Guns Up lands in select U.S. theaters and VOD on July 18, 2025. That's a confirmed date, timed to fill whatever void John Wick left—and to see if James's Ray Hayes can make us care about an ex-cop, mobbed-up dad on the run from a career of bad calls and even worse poker faces.
The Set-Up: More Than a Dad Joke
Let's be honest: not all comedians survive the journey to action star.
This trailer makes a case for James, if not as the next Wick, at least as the most self-aware stuntman out there. The premise? Ray Hayes—a one-time police officer who ditches the badge for a steady, if illegal, paycheck as a mob enforcer. It's all for his family: Audrey (Christina Ricci, who somehow makes disillusioned wives electric) and two kids who think dad just works overtime stacking boxes.
Of course, there's no rest for the wicked (or the weak), and one botched job later, Ray has a new mission—get his family out of the city by sunrise, or lose everything. Cue the paranoid chases, the brutal betrayals, and the kind of half-cocked plans that would make even Bruce Willis wince.
Throw in Some Mob Mythology
There's something almost Shakespearean—yes, really—about the way Guns Up leans into genre clichés only to twist the knife.
There's a new boss in town (Lonny, played nasty), a shifting code of honor, and a secret in Audrey's past that lands like a hammer in the third act. Suddenly, that family-reunion-at-the-diner dream? It's soaked in blood, irony, and marinara. Subtle? No. Entertaining? For sure.
No, Seriously—Why Kevin James?
Apparently, the answer is French bulldogs.
James himself admits he based Ray on a bulldog's failed attempts to jump on a couch—a mixture of struggle, hope, and not-quite-tragic belly flops.
It's a choice that works, somehow: he's battered, stubborn, and—dare I say—sympathetic. (As sympathetic as a man who just garroted a mafioso can be.)
Maybe that's the litmus test for what makes Guns Up interesting. It's meta, but not afraid of sincerity.
Ricci, Guzmán, and the “Butcher's Kid” Twist
Let's not forget the supporting cast: Christina Ricci packs a punch. Luis Guzmán, ever reliable, rounds out a roster that could've been lifted from a heist flick circa 1995.
But it's the reveal—the twist involving Audrey's true history, her new-old nemesis, and the entire mob upending itself—that almost (almost!) redeems the familiar beats. When the violence drops, it's messier, more emotional, and less predictable than you'd expect.
July 18, Marked
Circle the date: July 18, 2025. Vertical has confirmed this is more than a shell game; there's real money in the drawer here.
For those of us who track festival drops or international leaks (the film already hit some European screens), this stateside launch is, yeah, the main event for James die-hards and the VOD faithful alike.
Final Thoughts
Is Guns Up great? Who knows. I gasped. I rolled my eyes. And, damn it, I laughed—loudly, at least once.
James might never be John Wick, but in this heat-soaked summer, he doesn't need to be. He just needs to get his family out alive, open a diner, and—please—never try that couch jump again.
Would I watch it again?
Maybe.
Probably.
Ask me in July.
