Rated R for violence and language.
123 Minutes
Directed By: Gore Verbinski
Written By: J. H. Wyman
Staring: Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, James Gandolfini, Bob Balaban, and Gene Hackman
You have managed to Forrest Gump your way through this. -Samantha
Synopsis
A man tries to transport an ancient gun called The Mexican, believed to carry a curse, back across the border, while his girlfriend pressures him to give up his criminal ways.
Review
I try each time I watch this movie to like it. Brad Pitt is one of my favorite actors, and seldom does shabby work. Gore Verbinski is a great director with a strange perceptive and interesting way to shoot movies. James Gandolfini is great no matter what he does, and despite my personal dislike of Julia Roberts, she can often deliver in the roles she plays. None of the talent here was given the opportunity to shine.
There was originality with the story of The Mexican, but it never came together. It seemed confused as to whether it was an action film, a comedy, or a twisted romance. Get Shorty is a film that managed to intertwine those concepts together flawlessly. The Mexican is a movie that never had a clue. There is so much back and forth, that by the last forty minutes, you don’t care how it ends, you just hope that it does.
A saving grace is Gandalfini. His contrast to Roberts manic and awkward character Samantha, often grounded scenes and actually offered a slight bit of foundation for a film that felt like it was on a constant trampoline. Even Pitt, and it pains me greatly to say this, could not put it together in this one. Maybe he was supposed to be a bumbling idiot, but his character, Jerry, never gave the slightest bit of intelligence to believe he could “ForrestGump ” his way through his situation. His love interest played by Roberts is so annoying you can’t understand why Jerry wants to return to her without a sedative in hand.
The Mexican is empty and soulless. It’s so busy, and trying so hard to be edgy, or Tarantino-like that it never becomes anything short of a bad ADD trip. There is no cohesion, and unfortunately lacks any really great performances despite the talent available. This is a strange movie, that I wish I could forget about and really convince myself to never watch again. It is a cinematic disaster. Please, don’t bother.
Heather I agree with you. This movie was not good.
I don’t like James Gandolfini as gay. It’s not right.
I hate that Brad Pitt can look that good and I still don’t want to watch the movie he’s in. That’s a baaaaad movie.