‘Guns & Moses’ – The Movie Hollywood Would Never Make

Don’t hold your breath waiting for a film celebrating the “good guy with a gun” narrative.

Just as unlikely? A gun-toting rabbi taking the phrase “never again” into his own hands. Unlikely, but not impossible, as it turns out.

The indie thriller “Guns & Moses” follows a fed-up Rabbi who arms himself following a friend’s assassination. It’s a ripped-from-the-headlines yarn created before the events of Oct. 7. Its timeliness couldn’t work any better on its behalf.

Sadly.

“Guns & Moses” doubles as a close-up of Jewish traditions, but the film’s unconventional hero sets this thriller apart. Step aside, Dirty Harry, Rabbi Mo is in town and he’s packing … brownies.

Rabbi Moses “Mo” Zaltzman (Mark Feuerstein, excellent) welcomes an old friend’s contribution to his synagogue. Rabbi Mo has been working out of a storefront for too long, and a donation from benefactor Alan Rosner (Dermot Mulroney) will allow his flock to expand at long last.

An assassin kills Alan during a ceremony honoring that gift. All signs point to Clay Gibbons (Jackson A. Dunn), a White Nationalist who previously tangled with Rabbi Mo.

Open and shut case, right? The Rabbi isn’t convinced of the teen’s guilt, so he starts investigating leads that local law enforcement deemed worthless. And the more he investigates, the more he realizes he needs protection to keep his family safe.

We know what that means.

ScreenRant presents an exclusive BTS clip from Guns & Moses.

The crime thriller starring Dermot Mulroney, Christopher Lloyd, Neal McDonough, and Mark Feuerstein arrives in theaters on July 18. #gunsandmoses pic.twitter.com/smHHFeDvgJ

— Screen Rant (@screenrant) July 15, 2025

Bodies start to pile up, and the whodunnit elements come into sharp relief. Greed, green energy and ambitions collide, and more lives could be at risk.

Can Rabbi Mo solve the murder, or will he be next on the killer’s “to-do” list?

“Guns & Moses” opens with a western-style score, and that’s no accident. Swap the settings, and this tale would fit nicely within the genre. Except director/co-writer Salvador Litvak understands the stakes in play. Jews have been under attack for some time, and their vulnerability makes them a target.

The film benefits from familiar faces lending gravitas to the yarn. Christopher Lloyd plays a Holocaust survivor who memorably recalls his history for a wayward teen. Neal McDonough, suddenly as busy as Pedro Pascal, co-stars as a mayor stunned by Alan’s murder.

Jake Busey isn’t granted much screen time, but he leaves an impression as Clay’s stricken Pa.

“Guns & Moses” spends quality time upending stereotypes, all the while focusing on Jewish culture in ways most movies ignore. That alone gives the film a sense of creative urgency.

Feuerstein’s reluctant hero pushes redemption as well as lead slinging. He’s a very different kind of hero, and the veteran actor never embraces his vigilante potential.

He’s afraid but resolute, unwilling to become yet another statistic.

The film wraps in a way that makes sense on paper, but it still breaks the film’s humble tone. That unfolds in line with the subject matter, but the transition still feels jarring.

The message throughout remains clear. The villains in “Guns & Moses” messed with the wrong Rabbi.

HiT or Miss: “Guns & Moses” suffers from a tonal shift in the third act, but it’s a cautionary tale told with heart and confidence.

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