Bandidas (2006)

Too much of everything

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Latina heartthrobs Salma Hayek and Penélope Cruz co-headline the rousing indie Western movie entitled,"Bandidas". It tells the tale of two very different women in mid-19th century Mexico who become a bank robbing duo in an effort to combat a ruthless enforcer terrorizing their town. It was produced and written by Luc Besson. The film was directed by Norwegian directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg.Sara and Maria are two women whose fathers are each wiped out by a nasty, vile, gun-wielding swindler named Tyler Jackson,who cuts a bloody swath across the Southwest as he reduces one bank after another to an impoverished trash heap. In revenge, these women vow to beat Tyler at his own game by hitting and robbing each of the banks before their father's killer can reach them. The movie is has the same kind of brisk and lightweight comic action.The only thing going for it is the playful chemistry between its charismatic,sexy and appealing stars - Cruz and Hayek - who are look to good at and nothing more.

This is a good movie if you are looking for something that is so bad it's funny. I don't remember ever hearing about it coming out, I'm wondering if it just went straight to DVD. I managed to sit through the whole thing, although three of the four other people I was watching it with left before it was over. It has decent entertainment value, but is without merit as any kind of quality film. The "bandidas" are clothed in the most ridiculously provocative way throughout the movie and are constantly getting wet or fighting each other. Most of the script is poorly written which results in awkward line delivery from the largely mediocre cast. Penelope and Salma do as well as they could in this movie, but I'm not sure what possessed them to choose this script. The funniest part is the range of accents you get from the supposed "Mexicans". The plot had multiple problems and every once in awhile I just wasn't sure what was going on. I would consider it to be a "mock western", but it almost seems that it is trying to be an actual western, and, if that is the case, it has completely missed the mark. They have a strange mix of serious subject matter covering the exploitation of the Mexicans by the Americans combined with unrealistic and impossible events carried out by these two prima donna characters. While this movie was good for some laughs (all at its expense) I don't think it was worth it.

Bandidas is a highly entertaining, fun ride. It takes place in Mexico, during the Mexican revolution in the 1800s. Two drop-dead gorgeous young women (played by Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek), decide to team-up and rob banks. This is quite a twist, from the usual macho western movie formula. The women commit robberies out of vengeance, in order to save land stolen from the Mexican people, by a villainous land baron.The violence in the film is ubiquitous, as it is in most westerns. However, the violent tone of the movie, is leavened with a jaunty, slap-stick humor. Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek, play the bank robbing duo more like a squabbling Laverne and Shirley, rather than Butch and Sundance. They have hilarious cat-fights with each other, as they try to learn to work together as a team.There's lots of incredible stunts throughout the film. Some are even performed by the horses, ridden by the characters. This is one of the few westerns I've seen, in which the steeds are as important to the plot, as the humans are. This factor highlights the overall lighted-hearted ambiance, running throughout the course of the film.The serious business of justice and revenge is pursued with gusto, by the beautiful, bank-robbing two-some. But along the way, the viewer is treated to lots of belly-laughs. Watching this film, is a great way to get your funny-bone tickled, while rooting for the good guys (in this case gals), to triumph over evil.

I found Bandidas as a mediocre and predictable film but,inside its limitations,it entertained me.This is a generic action movie shaken with comedy and romance and there's nothing special about it.This is a film with very limited ambitions but,at least,it's entertaining.Penélope Cruz is a good actress,and she brought an entertaining performance on this movie.The great Steve Zahn brings the best performance from this movie while Sam Shepard shows credibility on his role.I really do not have much to say about this movie.If you wanna see a light entertainment without too many ambitions,watch this movie.Rating: 6