DVD
REVIEW: GET THE GRINGO
07/28/12
OVERVIEW:
Car chases, bloody bodies and a hard-core prison… all in a day’s work. Mel Gibson’s vacation plans take a turn for the worse in the raw, explosive and action-packed GET THE GRINGO, arriving on Blu-ray, DVD and digital download July 17 courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and Icon Productions.
SYNOPSIS:
Gibson stars as Driver, an American criminal who violently
crashes his car through the border wall as he tries to outrun
the U.S. Border Patrol and coming to a screeching halt in
Mexico. Having survived the crash only to land inside a
hard-core Mexican prison, Driver enters the strange and
dangerous world of “El Pueblito.” In the middle of this
ruthless penal colony, Driver must do whatever it takes to
survive, even if he must turn to the unlikely guidance from a
10-year-old kid who shows him the ropes.
FILM REVIEW: Action-Junkies get ready. This is one for the action enthusiast. It is Mel Gibson in his truest form. It is gritty, cheesy, funny and most of all full of action. The south-of-the-border Mexican backdrop adds to the grittiness and grunginess of the film. So much so, that the location eventually takes away from the flick. Debuting director Adrian Grunberg subjects the viewer to overkill, not so much in the blood and gore as would be expected, but more so in the location of the prison scenes, in “El
Pueblito.” The scenery inside the prison environment is unlike anything you’ve probably seen in recent movies. It is very much reminiscent of market scenes found throughout many of the economically depressed countries around the world. I found the prison scenes to be very hectic, unconvincing, and over the top. Unfortunately the majority of the movie seems to take place within the prison walls and as a viewer, I had to keep reminding myself that the characters were actually in prison and not in some lawless town in Central or South America.
Gibson is supported by a young (ten year old) Kevin Hernandez, whose character exudes all of the characteristics that would be expected of the youngster exposed to tough prison life, on an extreme level. The relationship between the Gringo (Mel’s character) and Hernandez’s character seems a little far fetched and at times not very believable. I would have found their relationship a little more credible if they were not both in the prison environment, and just simply following the same cause.
In the ninety-five minutes the movie worked to some extent because we got some what a classic Mel Gibson cops and robbers’ story, full of action, and a little romance to spice things up. I particularly found the action scenes very exhilarating and funny, though a couple of the ‘CG’ scenes were not very convincing. The romance was a little dry on the outset; however, it did fit in to the story quite well.
Overall, Get the Gringo was enjoyable and deserves three and a half stars, despite its shortfall on substance and creativity. For those non-action movie fanatics, Get the Gringo is a good choice for
VOD.
Review
By Movie-Man Stan
DVD: The film is
presented in widescreen in a 2.40:1 aspect ration
preserving its theatrical format. The picture is just
flawless. Not only the picture looks great in
this release, also the sound it is good, a 5.1 Dolby Digital
in English that provides a
good complement to the picture. It also includes
English and Spanish
subtitles.
VIDEO:
2.40:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
AUDIO:
English 5.1
Dolby
Digital Surround
Subtitles - English Spanish
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Get The Gringo: A Look Inside
“El Corrido Del Gringo” Music Video
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