GET THE GRINGO
R
95 Minutes
Director: Adrian Grunberg
Writers: Mel Gibson, Adrian Grunberg, Stacy Perskie
Mel Gibson, Peter Stormare, Dean Norris
Father-Son Moment
Cast
Mel Gibson-Driver
Peter Stormare-Frank
Dean Norris-Bill
Kevin Hernandez-Kid
Dolores Heredia-The Kid's Mom
Once an A-list actor, Mel Gibson has now become a Hollwood outcast. In his prime, he could almost pass for normal...almost. Bigotry, mental instability, alcoholism, delusions of grandeur; have all plagued this actor/philanthropist recently. The liberal media has persecuted Mister Gibson for his beliefs; and now, you could say that's his cross to bare.
The Mel you know and love (1985-95) has come back to life, however briefly, and not for the entire duration of this movie. After some serious soul searching, 'Mad Max' came up with this feature film. Surprisingly, Get the Gringo, is in large part, financed by himself.
After a large bank heist, a career criminal evades police, and escapes into Mexico. Landing himself in a Mexican jail. The jail is more of a ghetto than a jail, with its own local economy. Family members of prisoners come and go as they please. There's rampant corruption; you could buy almost anything you wanted there, except for freedom. This criminal mastermind has no problem circumnavigating this new world. He even knows a little Spanish.
Spoiler Alert: He falls in love with Mexican lady.
An exciting film, just good mindless fun. To use the cliché, this is an action packed, non-stop thrill ride. This 'thrill ride' ends like Splash Mountain at Disneyland, but without the water. I'm referring to the contrived, stupid, non-existent ending.
Lately, I've been teaching myself Spanish. So at the very least, I knew this movie would serve an educational purpose. And for all you students of Spanish, it did serve this purpose, they spoke Spanish and displayed Spanish subtitles.
Get the Gringo will never see the dark of theaters. So I reccomend getting this from a Red Box. When you're over at a friends house, throw the DVD on the coffee table, and say:
What the hell is this doing here?
Really?
I'm embarrassed to even know you.
Still, would be funny if we watched it... all the way through.
Final Verdict: 68 out of 100