Kingpin (2003)

Powerful

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

It's been a long time since I've seen such a well enacted and so realistic TV Series.It seems that the "narcotraficantes", some of whom I would call "NACOtraficantes" are just as real as the ones who vandalize and terrify Mexican life in the border as of today.It is somehow awkward the mix of English and Spanish and I just wonder if this is the kind of language spoken in the US-Mexican border. I've been to Laredo/Nuevo Laredo once and indeed it seems to be like this.It is also true that today the blood bath seems to be many times worse than when the movie was filmed.It's a shame that the series has been shut down.A friend of mine lent me the three DVDs and I couldn't stop until I saw all the episodes.

This show was the best show on tv. Too bad NBC didn't have the guts to keep it on tv. The show was great. The actors did an excellent job. The writers for the show came up with someone to keep you wanting to watch tv. This show is better than Sopranos. Yes it is a little edgy for network tv, but with the time slot that it was on made it ok. For the network tv they cut a lot out of the show that is shown on the DVD set. The DVD set shows how the producers wanted the show to be. Hopefully HBO will pick this show up and air it. Then it will have a network that won't be afraid to show it. For anyone that likes the Sopranos or Godfather will love this show and I highly recommend it. Miguel is cool and smart while Chato takes care of the dirty work.

This series deserves to become a regular next season or at least a regular mini-series. The great plot points for the family and extended relatives have all been laid out. There was a surprising amount of depth to the episodes, ranging from the thoughtful to the hilarious. One thoughful point was the class snobbery, prevalant in Mexico, played out between the Senator and Miguel Cadenas. There were some laugh out loud moments, from Jacob Vargas' entire character of Ernesto (killed too early) to Dr. Klein's (Brian Benben) realization that he had been mispronouncing Romolo's name all along. "It's not Romuulo, it's Rrrromolo!" The only negative can be that we're asked to root for a drug kingpin. I thought perhaps America was not ready for that, but after seeing the "admirable" qualities of the beloved Sopranos I now ask-Why not?

I don't normally watch regular TV. Most of it, to me is boring and mundane. Besides, between digital cable, VHS and DVD rental possibilities and regular movies in theaters, why waste time with stuff full of advertisements and, for the most part, dumbed down? But as a fan of the Sopranos,I thought I would look at a ripoff of that show, for at least one episode. I wasn't sure then if I liked it, but watched the next couple of episodes, and by then I was hooked. It may be like the Sopranos in that it is about a modern crime family, but except for that is quite different.Kingpin is well written, well acted, and unlike most movies or series, actually causes you to think about it after you've watched it. I certainly hope NBC picks it up as a regular series.