Mild-mannered U.S. businessman Harold Soyinka finds himself at the mercy of backstabbing colleagues, local drug lords and a black ops mercenary after traveling to Mexico. Crossing the line from law-abiding citizen to wanted criminal, Harold fights to survive an increasingly dangerous situation that raises the question -- is he out of his depth or two steps ahead?
Director: Nash Edgerton
Cast: David Oyelowo, Charlize Theron, Joel Edgerton, Amanda Seyfried, Thandie Newton, Sharlto Copley
Release Date: March 9, 2018
Genres: Action, Comedy, Crime
Rated R for language throughout, violence and sexual content
Runtime: 1h 50min
Review:
Gringo is a weird mismash of knock off Tarantino films that seemed to litter the cinematic landscape after Pulp Fiction hit in the late 90s. Nash Edgerton film is overly busy and needlessly complex. The characters themselves are interesting and eccentric enough but none of them have any tangible depth to them to make them overly interesting. To its credit, the film boast a stellar cast who make the film far more watch able than it deserves to be. David Oyelowo is the main attraction since he’s clearly having a great time playing against type. Oyelowo who’s usually a dramatic actor has some solid comedic chops and provides of the films best moments. Charlize Theron & Joel Edgerton are terribly underused especially in the second half of the film. The same goes for Sharlto Copley’s character who’s interesting but he’s introduced late in the film leaving you wanting more. Gringo as a whole feels like a missed opportunity, it’s not an unenjoyable film but you can’t help but feel like there is a much better film there.
C
