Gringo Blu-ray Review
Jeremy Werner
June 25th, 2018
It took me a while to figure out why GRINGO felt like a movie that may have been better suited in the 90’s. That era to me is when crime comedies really found their footing as a reliable genre. Films like ANALYZE THIS and GET SHORTY not only humanized crooks, but showed they could break legs and funny bones. Then films like FARGO and TRAINSPOTTING elevated it to higher levels as a serious art form. If GRINGO was released amongst this bunch, it may have been embraced as a weak stepping stone instead of the poor man’s rip-off it comes across as.
The criminals in this film come in the form of the owners of Promethium, an up and coming pharmaceutical company. CEO Richard Rusk (Edgerton) and his partner in crime, and in bed, Elaine (Theron), are looking to merge with another company. The deal would have Promethium tossing away all of its employees and handing over an experimental marijuana pill, as the U.S. slowly decriminalizes and legalizes the drug. Promethium hasn’t reached the apex with their pill by any ethical means, mainly selling their breakthrough medical weed through a Mexican distributor, a front for the Cartel.
The person unintentionally at the center of this scheme and merger is Harold (Oyelowo). The trusty go-to for Richard has learned about the merger and his following job loss because of that fact. Compounded with the knowledge that his wife is cheating on him, and leaving him, as well as a negative number in his bank account, he concocts a plan to stage a kidnapping, enacting a company insurance plan that covers employees in the event of an overseas kidnapping. This all collides for a less than spectacular fireworks show.
GRINGO suffers from a busy script with little intrigue. I haven’t even mentioned the side plots feature Amanda Seyfried or Sharlto Copley. The only thing they bring to the table is an extended runtime and the affirmation that both are indeed still working in Hollywood. Even if you were to trim that fat, the script is still too convoluted. Harold is sympathetic for his role, but the two bosses that hold his fate in their hands aren’t fascinating or amusing scumbags. They’re slimy and barely two-dimensional characters. The most fascinating villain in the movie is the Cartel crime boss who’s mainly meant for cliché scenes providing necessary exposition to keep the plot moving.
There’s a lot of promise in a film like this, because of the aforementioned films that have done so much better. There should be an airtight fluidity to GRINGO, especially with so many balls in the air falling down at once. Instead of landing with shock and awe, they hit with a dud and a shrug. Because of that aura of mystery that everything will eventually come together in the end and ‘wow’ you, the film is never boring, but it’s ultimately disappointing.
There’s a lot of likable moving parts in GRINGO, but none of fits or works well together. GRINGO may be what happens when you spend too much time overthinking every element of your script to the point that polishing it does more damage to its core. There’s a great idea at the center of this film and a cast that chews on every fabric of the scenery, but it’s a poorly put together jigsaw puzzle. There’s pieces missing and some of those pieces were smashed in aggressively out of frustration.
BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: (1080p HD Widescreen 2:39:1) The film is gorgeous to look at on this blu-ray, capturing the wintry north of the U.S. and the steamy sauna of Mexico.
Audio: (English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1) There were no problems with the audio.
Who is Harold? (1:58): An incredibly short supplement hoping to talk about the main character, but instead spending its short runtime to talk about the overall plot.
The Stunts of GRINGO (3:48): I find stunt work to be an interesting feature regardless of the movie and its lack of stunts. So I’m probably biased in saying this is alright.
Filming GRINGO in Mexico (3:45): Plays like an advertisement for Mexico.
The Making of GRINGO (4:18): An encompassing behind-the-scenes feature that doesn’t necessarily shed light on anything unique about the making of this movie.
