186.
Gringo
6.5/10
This movie looks like it was going to be a dark comedy, along with plenty of action and drama to carry the storyline across. This is the first movie that I would be seeing David Oyelowo in action and along with the busy Joel Edgerton, Charlize Theron and Thandie Newton, there's plenty of well-known faces on the screen. Being a guy who enjoys dark comedy, the trailer seemed that the movie was going to be a decent watch but also a movie that I figured wouldn't appeal to everyone and therefore may not be successful at all. I didn't see this movie advertised anywhere else really than the times I was actually watching other movies. Could this be a great dark comedy, or one that should be locked away in a dark room?
The movie revolves around Oyelowo's character, named Harold Soyinka and the movie begins with him calling the Co- Presidents of the Pharmaceutical company that he works for, who are played by Theron and Edgerton. He claims that he has been kidnapped and the kidnappers are demanding a five million dollar ransom for his release. We are then sent to a day earlier and we see Harold and the Co-Presidents, Richard and Elaine arrive at their Mexico plant and meet with the head of the plant, Sanchez. Harold isn't aware that Sanchez has been selling their latest product, some medical marijuana in the shape of a pill, to the Mexican Cartel. In order to not harm their upcoming murder, the company decided to cut off the Cartel and we all know that that will never go down well. Along with this, we find out that Harold and Richard were once good friends and Richard had gotten the job for Harold within the company. After Harold finds a recording of a meeting about the merger, Harold finds out that he would be losing his job and even returning home that night, he finds out that his wife, played by Thandie Newton, has been having an affair and wants a divorce. It turns out that the affair is actually with Richard. Meanwhile, at the Mexican plant, Sanchez has passed the news onto the Cartel and gets done over for it as they chop a few digits off. They then believe that Harold is the boss and plan on capturing him.
The next morning, everyone is due their flight home and Elaine and Richard leave Mexico without Harold, who has disappeared. They don't seem too bothered and leave pretty sharpish. In a couple of scenes, we even see these two having sex without each other, not that anything is actually getting further into any sort of relationship, purely physical. We find Harold hiding at a motel and convincing the owners, who are brothers, to act as kidnappers and phone Richard, ordering a ransom. After getting off the phone, Richard calls her ex-mercenary brother Mitch and asks him to rescue Harold. Mitch is played by Sharlto Copley and instantly this movie has taken a better turn for me. This guy can be hysterical. Harold spends the evening at a bar, believing that his plan has failed but the bartender recognises him and instantly contacts the Cartel, leading to men arriving and actually kidnapping Harold. Somehow, this nobody whose life is falling apart, overpowers the two men and causes the car to crash off road. The next morning, whilst Harold is walking the roads, he is picked up by Sunny and Miles, who take him back to the motel where all three of them have been staying. Sunny likes Harold, knowing that he is harmless and Miles is actually a drug mule, which she doesn't approve of. Before we see their return, we have seen a little scene where the owners have been bribed by the Cartel, for information on Harold. The refuse but think it would be a better idea to kidnap him themselves and on their attempt, get foiled, as Mitch finally shows up, beats the hell out of them and takes Harold with him. Harold can't catch a break! Constantly with a sack over his head, poor bastard. Mitch takes him straight to the airport, to send him home but Harold tries to escape again before Mitch subdues him and places a tracker on him in case he does run away again. They actually get on good terms with each other and come up with a plan to extort money out of Richard, as it turns out that Mitch doesn't exactly like his brother anyway. They give Richard a call and it turns out that Richard is due a huge pay out from life insurance if Harold were to die. Mitch has been offered some of this if he kills Harold, to which he agrees and once again, the story has changed its path.
Being around half way through the movie now, I'm left wondering what's left to come in this story and how many times it can change it's path again. Harold and Mitch are spotted by the brothers walking the streets as it becomes time for Mitch to gun down Harold. Instead, he can't bring himself to do so, after bonding with the guy and instead, he is attacked by the brothers, who kidnap Harold and take him to the Cartel's leader, who guns the brothers down and demand that Harold accesses the vault back at the plant in order to get the pill formula. This movie is so back and fore that I have no idea how it could end. At the plant, everything is in place until the police show up and a shoot-out begins, letting Harold escape with one of the Cartels, who Harold had come to get to know. He reveals himself as DEA and on their escape, they are followed by some Cartel who noticed them leaving. After being run off the road, Harold is about to be executed at gun-point, until Mitch once again arrives and kills the men at the last moment, with Harold even finishing one of the guys off. Harold turns to his DEA friend and asks him for help, believing that he has nothing to return to in Chicago and the guy, named 'Angel' agrees to pronounce Harold dead, to which he is handed evidence in order to incriminate Richard for all that he has done.
The movie then ends with the Cartel being arrested, along with Miles and we see Angel at the scene. Back in Chicago, Richard is too arrested and Elaine testifies against him, leading to her taking over the company. Sanchez, despite his new disability, is happier than ever, settling down with his family and as for Harold, we see him opening a beachside bar, being called Harry Barnes and even keeping in touch with Sunny. This could be the first time that I've seen a smile on this guys face for the whole movie and I don't really blame him.
The white-knuckled ride of a movie meant that you were kept guessing as to which way this story was going to go. The main character is trying to come across as a good guy who always gets dumped on, but others could see him as a guy, so naïve, that he could win awards. Most of the cast were pretty good, but at times, I think some, such as Newton as the wife, were simply employed just to show how low this guys life had gotten because she didn't really add anything else. 95% of the movie is pretty gritty and dark, with the final scene being the brightest and only true moment that doesn't feel dirty. This can truly be seen as the happy ending to this otherwise disastrous guy's life. When it comes to the humour, it is dark but with the story constantly switching to who is after who, there was no real continuity for me. Even when Copley entered the story, he did his best to breathe some life into it and then he was gone again for someone else to be involved. It needed more than just Harold to be on the screen constantly, instead of switching him between the hands of different side characters. By the end, it was a little chaotic but the best parts and most humorous were shown in the trailer. Doesn't that always see to be the case?
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