The introduction
to Gibson’s character, the titular ‘Gringo’, is a memorable one. He’s wearing a
clown mask and embroiled in a high-speed pursuit along the US/Mexican border.
His partner is dying and spitting blood all over the back seat and the $2
million dollars in cash they have just ripped from a powerful mob boss. This
over-excited and over-edited car chase sequence is a sloppy start, but after a dramatic
crash, which has Gringo arrested by corrupt officials on Mexican soil, the film
shifts to a cracking location – an elaborate town-like prison known as El
Pueblito – and Get the Gringo settles
down.
Gringo is a career criminal. He is a foul-mouthed chain-smoker and as we come to learn, a no-nonsense guy who knows how to handle a gun and arrange a caper. Watching Gibson skulk around the prison learning the lawlessness of the land, studying the hierarchy, ripping off fellow inmates and blowing up heroin dens that operate next to food services, is actually quite fun. He befriends an inquisitive ten-year-old inmate (a very good Kevin Hernandez, The Sitter), who lives with his mother, and he becomes a father figure and his personal protector when his life is threatened.
Gringo is a career criminal. He is a foul-mouthed chain-smoker and as we come to learn, a no-nonsense guy who knows how to handle a gun and arrange a caper. Watching Gibson skulk around the prison learning the lawlessness of the land, studying the hierarchy, ripping off fellow inmates and blowing up heroin dens that operate next to food services, is actually quite fun. He befriends an inquisitive ten-year-old inmate (a very good Kevin Hernandez, The Sitter), who lives with his mother, and he becomes a father figure and his personal protector when his life is threatened.
The narration,
which is intermittent and seems to be addressing someone in Gringo’s life, is genuinely
amusing. Gibson offers up plenty of cheek and wry one-liners and responses to
the gangsters who are doubly intrigued by this madman and at the same time keep
finding reasons to want him dead. Fun cameos from Peter Stormare as the mob
kingpin missing a stack of cash, and Peter Gerety as a sweaty U.S Marshall give
the series of interconnected subplots some extra life.
Get the Gringo is essentially a
western-in-a-prison and Grunberg makes effective use of the excellent location.
Gringo tags it ‘the world’s most fucked up mall’, a freewheeling dystopia based
on an actual prison outside Tijuana.
This is a pulpy, brutal and funny film. The slow-motion shootouts are soaked with CGI blood,
but there is still plenty of innovative staging and technique. Though it is
logically challenged at times, it offers up droll comedy and an often-mesmerizing
series of guns-blazing capers. Gibson gives it his all as the likeable
protagonist who gets on the wrong side of everyone. Much to my surprise, it is
enjoyable watching him take down a series of crooked gangsters and reclaim his
loot.
My Rating: ★★★1/2 (B)
Similarly to you Andy, I decided against this film earlier in the year, but I think it might be worth a watch now from reviews, including this one!
ReplyDeleteWill give it a look :)