If you took James Bond, mashed him with Shaft and made him Chilean the result would be Antonio Espinoza aka Mandrill, an assassin whose goal in life is to find the man who brutally murdered his parents. Growing up, Antonia idolized a man by the name of John Colt, a 70s TV action star who Mandrill pretty much evoled into, and both who had weaknesses for woman similar to Mr. Bond. After mastering the art of seduction from his uncle and completing various missions, Mandrill is hired to capture a casino owner who just so happens to be the man who murdered his parents. The only road block is that the mafioso’s daughter, Dominique (Celine Reymond), is the only one who knows where her father is. As Mandrill begins to fall in love with her, he realizes that she is now the one obstacle that stands between him and avenging his parents.
Directed and written by Ernesto Diaz Espinoza, Mandrill is a Chilean action film shot in the vein of 70s action flicks, which is something Espinoza clearly has a passion for. Much like other exploitation films such as Black Dynamite, Mandrill recreates the style and aesthetic of the era with the two differences being that it was shot in HD, which prevents it from looking old, and that is doesn’t have the same humor that other exploitation films typically have, which is supposed to be the case this time around.
Mandrill is played by the Chilean action legend, Marko ‘The Latin Dragon’ Zaror, a man who I have never heard of, but I’m glad he is now on my radar because the guy’s got some moves. He reminds me of Jason Statham in both the way he fights and his appearance. He’s a big guy and an unsuspecting martial arts star which makes him so much fun to watch. Plus, he has the added bonus of being acrobatic so some of his moves are just a lot cooler looking than Statham’s.
SPOILER . What I truly loved about Mandrill is that he doesn’t let the romance get in the way of his decision to assassinate Dominique’s father, no matter how difficult of a choice it may be and no matter how much he truly loves her. He is willing to accept the consequences since he has never found true love before and, though he may die, he is willing to risk everything for her. But it true 70’s fashion, the film ends on a glorious note that gives hope to all the film’s viewers. END SPOILER. Also, with regards to the fight scenes, Espinoza used sounds that actually sounded like people hitting each other and avoided the typical Hollywood punch noises. That coupled with the lack of a loud backing track during the fight scenes made it all feel that much more realistic.
While cool and collected, Mandrill isn’t the type of film that you can fall completely in love with. It has some nifty action scenes that I really enjoyed but Zaror’s acting felt rather flat at times and the storyline wasn’t that original. I found myself checking the clock every so often during the dramatic scenes since some of them were rather boring.
When it comes to the disc itself there isn’t too much to talk about with regards to the special features. There is a seven minute ‘Anatomy of a Fight scene’ featurette which includes three segments from three different fights showing how the scene were created and how the stunts were achieved. There is also a three minute ‘behind the scenes’ featurette which shows a compilation of behind the scenes footage from a handful of scenes throughout the film, nothing groundbreaking or noteworthy.
Overall, Mandrill is a cool Chilean action film that’s definitely worth checking out if you’re a fan of martial arts flicks or films inspired by the 70s action era. It’s not the most original film out there but it’s short and sweet and will put the very talented Marko Zaror on your map if he isn’t already on it. After two years of waiting, Mandrill is getting the Blu-ray/DVD treatment thanks to Magnolia Home Entertainment. It is being released under the Magnet label today, February 28th.
Movie Rating: A nifty action film fueled by style and a Chilean James Bond (6/10)
Blu-ray Rating: 5.5/10
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