El Gringo
The
Man (Scott Adkins) crosses into Mexico with a satchel slung around his
shoulder. Its contents; $2,000,000 in cash and a lot of bad history
behind it. After making the journey on foot through scorching heat, he
comes upon the town of El Fronteras. While stuck waiting for the bus
that will take him to a comfortable future of sun, cold drinks and
beaches, he’ll have to deal with a drug cartel, thieves, a corrupt
sheriff, inhospitable locals and a DEA Lieutenant that are all after him
and the money he carries.
Scott
Adkins has been a leading man in the making for years now. Back when I
first saw him in the still amazing Undisputed III: Redemption, I
knew back then he had the goods and I believe that he still does. After
watching this film, I’m still convinced of that. With each film he does,
he shows a little more of what he is capable of and in El Gringo,
he shows us a bit of everything.
El
Gringo is a mix of a film. Smart, yes. Stylish, that too. The camera
work is inventive and Adkins gives a good deal of range that we haven’t
seen from him before, but there’s something missing. The characters all
have the makings of something great and memorable, but really don’t get
their chance to shine, due to a few many slow placed and
way-too-much-plot heavy scenes. The movie feels a little too long for
what it is. At 99 minutes, it could have had 5-10 minutes cut from it,
which would have helped speed up the film.
The
video transfer on this is flawless. Perfect picture and sound to boot. I
love Blu-ray releases with picture and audio that go hand in hand and
are just pristine. I mean, isn’t that why we buy Blu? Watching Adkins
walk through the desert, soaked in sweat, his clothes covered in dust
and dirt, you can just feel the heat of the desert and gun fire has
never sounded so meaty and awesome!
The
only special feature included on this disc is a 6 minute behind the
scenes featurette, which is fairly basic and just includes some actor
interviews and a quick overview of the film.
With
some smarts, style and inventive camera work, El Gringo starts
the ball rolling on being a classic, but doesn’t quite make it there.
When the action starts, the movie excels, with a mid-film action scene
where the man gets 52 kills in 5 minutes! I know! I counted! Give El
Gringo a watch. If you’re a fan of Scott Adkins then it’s a must and
fans of Robert Rodriguez may find something they’ll enjoy in this.
