Gringo

source: Gringo

No, I do not recommend this movie. The story develops very, very slow, you could easily skip the first hour and still follow the movie, very little happens and there is a LOT of talking. The action in this movie is limited to one (1) scene at the end of the movie. Then the title, Gringo (gringo usually refers to an English-speaking male foreigner, especially one from the United States) does not apply because the main character (Harold) comes from Nigeria. Then the humor, well, is has 3 or 4 moments, that's it. Plus are the camera work and that the acting is not completely stupid. The movie left me very unsatisfied.

While you sort of know how it's going to work out it's a fun ride to see how you get there. Charlize was amazing. Entertaining and fun! I think a lot of the reviewers here while they know movies, don't have a very good sense of humor.

I was having a chat with a friend earlier about how many of the Hollywood movies seem to be reboots, remakes, and sequels, though one of the main reasons for this is that movies tend to be high risk endeavours costing at times hundreds of millions of dollars that actually trying something new is simply not worth it. I guess this is why some of the really original films actually end up being at the low end of the market, and it appears that this film certainly falls into that category. While the film itself isn't strictly original, there are elements of it that certainly set it apart from a lot of the other films that we see around the place. Basically it is about this middle manager who got his job simply because he was friends with one of the bosses. However, he is a nice guy, and the reality of the business world is that nice guys end up getting shafted. Well, he ends up in Mexico sorting out some business with a plant down there, and upon discovering what is really going on decides that he might try extorting some money out of the company, and the fact that his wife had just left him, there really isn't all that much left for him back in the states. This is one of those films that introduces us to multiple disparate characters who all eventually come together - well not quite, but there is a connection there. One of them is a guy that has been persuaded to go to Mexico and bring back some pills for analysis. However, there is also a Mexican drug lord that has been profiting off of the company's underhanded dealings, and when he discovers that he has also been cut off, decides that he wants to take what he believes to be rightfully his. I guess in the end it is the characters that really make this film, and that can actually work well - create the characters and build the film around them. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but then again if you have a well rounded character that will react in certain ways in certain situations then you are on the way to actually creating a half decent story. Okay, I won't necessarily say that this is one of the best films out there, but it certainly has its perks, and the characters really did stand out at times - particularly the protagonist Harold. Having a Nigerian accent also added to that authenticity. There is one thing about this film that stands out, and that is loyalty, or rather the lack of it. I noticed that out of all the characters in the film there were only two that could be considered honest and loyal - pretty much everybody else was completely untrustworthy. The question that is raised though really comes down to whether it is worth it. Well, it was a bit of a hit or miss in this film - not all of the dishonourable people got it, and not all of the decent people got away clean. Sure, a number of the nasty characters did get it in the neck, but a few of them managed to get away. I guess this is another other of this nice things about the film because while a number of these characters ended up meeting a rather sorry end, not all of them did.

Greetings again from the darkness. In a perfect cinematic world, great acting elevates a terrific script. However, the best case scenario for a weak script, or in this case a messy one, is that it can be offset by acting. Fortunately for director Nash Edgerton (it's been 10 years since his underappreciated THE SQUARE), he has assembled such a quality cast that what amounts to little more than organized chaos is mostly watchable - even if it's not consistently entertaining. The cast is loaded with international talent from Australia, England, South Africa and Latin America. David Oyelowo, far removed from his Martin Luther King role in SELMA, stars as Harold/Harry, a Nigerian immigrant just trying to do his job and live his life according the morals and work ethic instilled by his father. Harold is the trusting type who believes that his free-spending wife is faithful and that his boss is his friend. That boss is Richard Rusk (we should call him Dick) played by Joel Edgerton (the director's brother), and together with Charlize Theron as his Executive VP Elaine, combine to exemplify modern day douche-baggery. The story revolves around the formula for a medicinal marijuana pill that their company is making, and the secretive proposed merger being ironed out. To clean up the books for the audit, Richard and Elaine travel to Mexico to convince their supplier to stop the illicit sales to a local drug lord. They bring the unaware Harold along for his contacts. The turmoil that follows includes a faked kidnapping and staged ransom phone call, two local hotelier brothers scheming for a big take, an American tourist couple with conflicting reasons for their trip, DEA involvement, a grown-up tantrum, an un-retired mercenary on a mission, and an ongoing argument over the best Beatles' album. And you wonder why I described it as messy? Of course, rarely if ever does staging one's own kidnapping go well, so we know Oyelowo's Harold is in for a rough and tumble ride. Multiple car chases turn into multiple car crashes, guns are fired, tequila is consumed, and backs are stabbed - in the proverbial sense. Oyelowo seems to be enjoying his trip outside of movie drama, and Edgerton and Theron do their best to create savage jerks. Sadly, Ms. Theron's character sets the women's movement back a few years with her sexual boardroom viper approach. On top of that are the stream of fat and ethnic jokes that would make Archie Bunker cringe. Co-writers Matthew Stone (muck like BIG TROUBLE, MAN OF THE HOUSE) and Anthony Tambakis (the compelling WARRIOR) are responsible for delivering a script that tries so hard to be too many things: action, comedy, satire, white collar crime, and an expose of greed and lack of integrity. The deep cast also includes Thandie Newton (as Harold's wife), Melonie Diaz (as Rusk's receptionist), Amanda Seyfried as the aptly named Sunny and Harry Treadaway as her misguided boyfriend, Diego Catano and Rodrigo Corea as the brothers running the motel, Yul Vasquez as Angel, Alan Ruck as the schmuck who falls for Elaine's wiles, Carlos Corona as the drug lord Black Panther (talk about bad timing!), Michael's daughter Paris Jackson in her film debut, and a standout as always, Sharlto Copley as the brother-mercenary-humanitarian. As is often said, it's better to be good at one thing, and though this one brings a few laughs and some creative moments, it's mostly an overblown mess that aims to high - or at too many targets.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie! And do you know why? Because it was fun!! I didn't laugh out loud much but certainly had a smile on my face almost throughout the duration of the film. I don't think anyone has the right to tell anybody on here not to watch a movie as we all have different tastes, but I certainly had fun watching this One.

This movie has some good scenes. But it is definitely not good. David Oleyowo shows that he can also be pretty funny but this only has a few comedic scenes on it. Amanda Seyfried´s acting was pretty good as always but I think her character along with her boyfriend were not relevant for this film. Theron and Edgerton were good also. As usual, Hollywood movies show people from other countries (in this case, mexicans and the main character playing a nigerian) as poor, ignorant, criminals, unsuccessful, etc. If you get to know Mexico a little bit better, you´d be surprised that many mexicans are caucasian with blue or green eyes and millionaires or very successful. Some of the richest men in the world are mexican such as the owner of a well known mexican telephone company. Also, you can nottice how some ¨mexicans¨ speak with a Puerto Rican accent like Yul Vazquez (Seinfeld´s gay Bob) and the airline clerk. Definitely the movie trailer was way better than the film. I´d say, don´t waste your time.

'Gringo (2018)' is an uneven and unsure piece, one that stumbles over its tone and pacing more times than you can count and yet manages to pick itself off the ground on pretty much every such occasion. Its massively slow start paves the way for an, at times, incredibly exciting but then strangely dull adventure with peaks and valleys of the highest and lowest proportions. It continuously cuts back to an all-star cast who sadly drain the life of the film as, though they are all brilliant, they each play narcissistic sociopaths who aren't nearly as radiant or interesting as David Oyelowo's eponymous hero - who is played to perfection and is earnestly enjoyable on many levels. The overall effect of the flick is an enjoyable but forgettable one, a sense that a better - if slightly more traditional - story resides somewhere inside this mess. It's not bad, but it's not great either. 6/10

Not a cheesy comedy due to award winning Sir David oleyowa ( famed MI6 actor) Intriging and surprice ending. Charlise Theron was beautiful and funny as usual and added lots of entertainment. Good acting by Black Panther cartel boss. overall I laughed and giggled a lot.

Comedy action adventure, stars David Oyelowo as Harold, he is an honest man working for a pharmaceutical company which makes legal cannabis tablets. But it turns out that the company is also working with a drugs cartel in Mexico. Harold takes a trip with his bosses to Mexico to smooth out a few things. Harold decides to fake his own kidnapping so the company can claim on the insurance after learning his job may be for the chop. Unfortunately all the funniest clips were in there trailer, therefore I hardly laughed since I'd already seen all the best jokes. It gets better towards the end, almost everyone dies, and Harold gets a new identity, moves, opens "Harry's Bar". Film finishes at that point. I can't really recommend this shambles of a film.