Desierto (2016)

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Desierto tells the tale of a pack of immigrants besieged by a frustrated patriot who is picking them off one by one as they attempt to cross the border. Part social commentary & part thriller, Desierto isn't completely successful on both counts. The villain is thinly drawn to the point if he had a mustache, he'd twirl it & the entering Mexicans are saintly & well meaning also suffer from the same lack of characterization so we're left w/a sense of a story told but not very well.

Actually I thought this was going to devolve into a procedural drama with those that witnessed the original shooting going to court and a whole 'trial movie'.As I kept watching however, it turned into a very real horror movie. Just like the innocents are chased in Texas Chain saw, only this is very original and shot in the daylight in the desert.I would not want to be in the desert in those conditions. Was surprised that Moises leaves Adela behind, saying 'he has a son'. Great cinematography and direction. Different scenes in desert great > rocks, desert, cactus beds, and a hunt and chase scene that is thrilling and a little reminiscent of Duel. Very good well thought out and put together film.The shooter Sam is an extreme typical stereotype by the left, all the Minute Men in the south report such illegal immigration to authorities they don't shoot them.Commenters were right about the M! Garand and Sam is a little improbable making long shots without a tripod and several migrants moving in different directions. For having no military training he is too good a shooter and is a fantasy.However, avoid the voice over sound track by the director, just more political diatribe about migrants who are really illegal immigrants. How about a film about illegals who commit crimes in US, like drunk driving, fake Soc Sec cards and shootings.

Desierto is a movie that tries to tackle a very serious topic with a handful of caricatures and two very good actors which are lazily directed. From a purely technical stance it tries to offer up some captivating shots during its first couple of minutes but it becomes quite clear as the movie progresses that Quaron does not know how to shoot a chase sequence, which this movie basically is. It's one big horror movie chase sequence that leaves a lot to desire in terms of dialog and pacing.The most concerning thing is that one leaves the movie without knowing what the directors intentions were. Was it to shine a light on the topic? to make a polarizing movie? to get some sort of radical reaction from the viewer? to serve as a cautionary tale?In any case, it ends up being a pretty tasteless and irresponsible treatment of a serious topic and it doesn't offer up anything else as a possible saving grace.

A group of people trying to cross the border from Mexico into the United States encounter a man who has taken border patrol duties into his own racist hands. Although the film started actually pretty strong and it was at least watchable for the first 2 acts but when the 3rd act came along the movie just became a tired mess that even Jeffrey Dean Morgan couldn't save it and sure the movie might get a bit political for some but honestly i didn't found any of those people interesting or even had a good character development when the character of Morgan was at least a bit enjoyable and fun to watch but that is the problem with the actual 3rd act because they turned his character into some weak jackass and even the dog turned into a bad cgi balloon. Overall the film had it's good moments for sure but the poorly developed characters and the badly made 3rd act completely ruined the movie. (5.7/10)