I thought the trailer and premise of Mel Gibson‘s latest film, Get the Gringo, was intriguing (though I prefer the film’s international title, How I Spent My Summer Vacation), and I was eager to check out the Blu-ray of the movie once it landed here at Movie Buzzers HQ.
THE FILM: Get the Gringo stars Mel Gibson as an unnamed career criminal who, in the film’s opening scenes, is dressed liked a clown in a car full of stolen money that is being pursued by law enforcement on the U.S./Mexican border. When a vicious car crash ends up with Gibson’s character on the Mexican side of the border, the Mexican authorities are eager to return him to the U.S. until they notice the money. His car is then confiscated and he is sent to a Mexican prison. Gibson’s character soon learns that Mexican prisons are very different from their American counterparts, and because of corruption life inside the prison walls is not very different from life outside. He becomes determined to find his way out of the prison and back to the money he stole despite his only ally being a nine year-old boy (Kevin Hernandez).
There are a few aspects of the movie that make it unique. First, despite much of the movie being in Spanish there are no subtitles. I don’t speak much Spanish — I think the only phrase I know is “mas cerveza” — yet despite the movie’s lack of subtitles I didn’t have any difficulty following the plot and discussions between the Spanish-speaking characters. That harkens back to Gibson’s interest in languages that he has demonstrated in his prior films The Passion of the Christ and Apocalypto. The movie also is ultra-violent — another Gibson trademark — and it’s fair to say that if you’re a fan of Gibson’s films Get the Gringo effectively combines his usual style with his Lethal Weapon character (it wouldn’t be inaccurate to call this film “Riggs Goes to Jail in Mexico”). While this is Adrian Grunberg‘s directorial debut (though he’s had a long career as an assistant or second-unit director), considering that this film is co-written, co-produced, and stars Gibson it’s clear he’s the driving creative force behind the film.
The story combines criminal elements and humor, mostly because Gibson’s character is a bit nutty. It’s the type of story that would be generic and awful had the film starred Steven Seagal, but Gibson makes it work since he remains a charismatic actor. A dozen years ago this movie would’ve done Payback or Ransom numbers, and though this film had a limited theatrical release and an immediate VOD release that doesn’t indicate that the film isn’t good — it’s a really enjoyable movie overall, at least much better than the usual direct-to-video action crap that is crowding your local RedBox.
THE EXTRAS: Despite the film’s lack of significant release, there are some solid features here, but only on the Blu-ray (the DVD doesn’t have any features).
Get the Gringo: A Look Inside – An 18-minute “making of” feature that reveals some interesting trivia, such as the fact that the movie was shot in an actual Mexican prison that had been recently shut down for human rights violations. Best part is probably Gibson talking about how he almost got Steve Jobs (!) to appear in the film.
On Set – Three features that show glimpses of how three scenes (The Car Chase, The Showdown, and The Raid) were filmed. These are fascinating, and it’s a neat way to see how these scenes were filmed. The car chase one is the best, as you get to see Gibson go nuts with a sledgehammer on the trunk of a car.
“El Corrido del Gringo” Music Video – Clips from the film set to a song in the film. About as interesting as you’d expect.
Film Rating: A return-to-form for Gibson and definitely worth a look if you want a solid action film (7.5/10)
Features: There’s some good stuff here, and definitely worth a look if you buy the film on Blu-ray (5/10)
Disc Rating: 6/10
Get the Gringo is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.
Recent Comments