Get the Gringo (2012)

Please don't spend money on this.

Masterful Cinema

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

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.

I feel like I have to qualify every review I make of a Mel Gibson film, so yes, he is an awful, crazy person, but oh man was this an great movie! Mel is a nameless getaway driver on the run with two million in cash, who is arrested by Mexican police within the first two minutes of the film and thrown into jail where he schemes to escape and recover his money. The story and main character have a hard-boiled, lean efficiency that's enthralling, and both also have a nasty violent edge that may not be to the tastes of all viewers (blood and guts Mel co-wrote and produced the film), but much of this is played for for comedy. I really don't want to ruin any of the story beyond the set-up, but Mel uses his wits, charms, guns, and fists to survive a prison like you've never seen. "Edge of Darkness" was somewhat of a return to action for Mel, but this film is undeniably a return to the giddy violent action of "Lethal Weapon" or "Payback", which this film could easily have been a sequel (Mel's character at one point references a partner double crossing him with his wife). Strangely, Mel chose not to release the film theatrically in the US and decided to show it Video-On-Demand instead, but I can kind of see his reasoning, as there are some pretty rough non-Hollywood elements in the film that you would certainly never see in most mainstream action films. Overall, if you're in the mood for "Payback" by way of "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia", then this is the film for you!

Mel Gibson's career is definitely one of those that resemble a roller coaster more than anything else. From Mad Max, Lethal Weapon and Braveheart to being the laughingstock of the whole media, he hasn't really shined in recent years.Which means that this film is even more enjoyable because once more you get to see Gibson playing the badass we knew and came to love in the past. The movie opens with an American criminal (Gibson) in a getaway car, trying to elude the police by crossing the boundary into Mexico. The only problem is, he's carrying a lot of loot with him and the Mexican police goes dollar-sign-eyes faster than you can yell Speedy Gonzales. Thus they throw him behind bars.What I like the most about this film is the prison itself. El Pueblito is a beautiful place with a character and soul of its own. Kids can live with their incarcerated parents and go freely, you can buy Pepsi from a corner store, drugs are freely distributed in little shacks by a semi-professional medical practitioners and the whole place is almost like a really high-tech prison you could find in a first world country. The only difference being that those are this varied because the country is so developed. This prison is so varied and "open" because the place is so corrupt. Very cool place and an excellent place for an action thriller.Unfortunately the plot doesn't quite deliver. Gibson's character is very resourceful and interesting, plus the kid character (Kevin Hernandez) he interacts with is not half bad, but the rest of the cast, especially the villains, are pretty much cookie cutter and thus dull. I don't really care about their motivations, I don't care about their past and I don't care about what happens to them. I was much more interested in learning more about Gibson's character, but very little is revealed about him. The film makes some references, but you can tell that Gibson is just spinning the yarn.Nevertheless, I do like the film and it's definitely worth checking out if you want to see a good film from Gibson for a change. Not a masterpiece by any means, but a decent film on all accounts.

All the reviews I read about this movie were amazing. People rant and rave about it, but I don't get it. The storyline is nothing new it was just the typical bland action film to me. The premise where an American gets thrown into a foreign jail has been done before, and done better. Maybe I'm missing the point... Was it supposed to be a comedy? I was bored honestly...I thought Mel Gibson's character was cheesy and the fight scene where he was throwing bombs made me laugh. It was totally predictable and unrealistic.. Usually I come on here and trust the reviews but I have to say I totally disagree on this one, I turned it off half way through.

Who would have guessed that looney-tunes Mel would make a great movie-- I thought his best days were long past since he lost his mind, but I was way wrong. This movie is really good and an interesting twist on this classic sort of "Payback" kind of story. It is worth watching just for the Mexican city-within-prison scenes all by itself. It is a solid action film from beginning to end with Gibson really delivering. There are a few scenes of harsh violence, but nothing too shocking considering what people are used to today. I was totally blown away by what an amazing surprise this film turned out to be. Highly recommended as an action/adventure flick, regardless of what you think of "Crazy Mel".