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Amazon.co.uk Review
Part road film, part romantic comedy, part thriller, and a whole lotta fun, The Mexican could get by on star power alone, but it offers Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and a clever plot full of delightful surprises. It's a thoroughly enjoyable shaggy-dog story in which the downtrodden Jerry Welbach (Pitt) copes with a dual dilemma: his girlfriend Samantha (Roberts) has just dumped him to pursue solo ambitions in Las Vegas, and a manipulative mobster has ordered Jerry to Mexico to retrieve a coveted antique pistol (the "Mexican" of the title) that carries a legacy of legend, death and danger. Jerry soon has his hands full with bandits, bloodshed and a grizzly hound dog that vanishes and reappears with amusing regularity. En route to Vegas, Samantha's taken hostage by a burly assassin (James Gandolfini) who's attached to the gun-fetching scheme and is, in more ways than one, not who he seems to be.
Like a good magic act, JH Wyman's original screenplay distracts you from its gaps of logic using unexpected revelations to fuel its strategic vitality. It also provides a wealth of character development, director Gore Verbinski (Mouse Hunt) giving his stellar cast equal time to shine. It hardly matters that Pitt and Roberts spend most of the film apart; their time together is worth waiting for, and the machinations that separate them play out like a cross between vintage Peckinpah and Romancing the Stone. And why is the accursed pistola so valuable? That's just another surprise, setting the stage for the arrival of yet another big-name star, whose motivations are pure in a film full of double-crosses and darkly shaded humour. With a giddy plot such as this, star power is just icing on the cake. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.co.uk
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:DVD
The Mexican feels like a very original script that's been through too many producers and writers and sessions of 'feedback' from its stars on its way to becoming a movie. For a start, Brad Pitt's (likeable) 'Jerry' is a fun character, but he always feels like an actor putting on an 'I'm a kooky character!' schtick, rather than a person. His dopehead in 'True Romance' was much funnier, more natural and more convincing. Here he veers between amusing and annoying in equal measure, and seems a little mis-cast. It's a role Alan Tudyk ('Serenity') or a similarly versatile actor would have suited better. Julia Roberts' 'Samantha' is also badly miscast. It needed an actress like Marisa Tomei with a lighter more airheaded comedy touch. Instead her character comes across as self-centred, bitchy, unlikeable and needy, until finally showing some warmth and likeability in the middle of the film.
The plot itself is fun - Jerry has screwed up too many times and gets given a last chance to redeem himself by fetching a valuable (and possibly cursed) pistol from Mexico for his mob employers. It's a simple job that ends up getting screwed up by a hilarious twist of fate that's very well handled.
For much of its length, The Mexican is amusing and nicely written, especially with the constantly changing mythology about the pistol. James Gandolfini is given a meaty role and some nice dialogue to spar with Samantha. Jerry's escapades are also varied and interesting. The film's problem is a lack of excitement and the fact that all of the jokes just create a gentle smile - nothing is ever laugh out loud funny. The comedy is mild. The action is mild. The kookiness is overdone. As a result I found myself glancing at my watch five or six times during the film - always a fatal sign that it's failing to hold my attention.
Some scenes are also awfully misjudged, including Jerry's virtual victory dance during what ought to be a very sad moment. That scene is also badly flawed in leaving a gaping unanswered question about how one character's interaction with Samantha may have turned out.
In short, the plot is fun but tries too hard to be zany, the actors feel miscast, the story meanders, and the conclusion is weak.
Would I watch it again? No. Was it fun? Fairly. It's a mess of good ideas with some killer lines, let down by poor execution.
The plot itself is fun - Jerry has screwed up too many times and gets given a last chance to redeem himself by fetching a valuable (and possibly cursed) pistol from Mexico for his mob employers. It's a simple job that ends up getting screwed up by a hilarious twist of fate that's very well handled.
For much of its length, The Mexican is amusing and nicely written, especially with the constantly changing mythology about the pistol. James Gandolfini is given a meaty role and some nice dialogue to spar with Samantha. Jerry's escapades are also varied and interesting. The film's problem is a lack of excitement and the fact that all of the jokes just create a gentle smile - nothing is ever laugh out loud funny. The comedy is mild. The action is mild. The kookiness is overdone. As a result I found myself glancing at my watch five or six times during the film - always a fatal sign that it's failing to hold my attention.
Some scenes are also awfully misjudged, including Jerry's virtual victory dance during what ought to be a very sad moment. That scene is also badly flawed in leaving a gaping unanswered question about how one character's interaction with Samantha may have turned out.
In short, the plot is fun but tries too hard to be zany, the actors feel miscast, the story meanders, and the conclusion is weak.
Would I watch it again? No. Was it fun? Fairly. It's a mess of good ideas with some killer lines, let down by poor execution.
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a fantastic film that has something for everyone - it's funny, it's moving, it's exciting and it's well acted, a gripping story with some excellent twists and beautifully filmed. You will bond with the characters quickly and be desperate to know how it all works out right till the last second.
Format:DVD
Excellent film !
Great characters, great dog.... and the music is supurb and just adds to the comedy that this film really is!
Brilliant
Great characters, great dog.... and the music is supurb and just adds to the comedy that this film really is!
Brilliant
Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Mexican
Offbeat and unpredictable, wth a couple of laugh out loud moments. I've heard reviews blaming the oversized star status of Brad and Julia for the film's relative failure but they... Read more
Published on 6 April 2010 by Reigh Sonable
Funniest film of 2001
What more could any movie want?? Julia Roberts, with massive amounts of sex appeal and the best smile in the world. Read more
Published on 7 Feb 2002
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