El Gringo (2012) Review

“El Gringo” Japanese DVD Cover

AKA: Bad Yankee
Director: Eduardo Rodriguez
Writer: Jonathan W. Stokes
Cast: Scott Adkins, Yvette Yates, Christian Slater, Israel Islas, Erando Gonzalez, Sofia Sisniega
Running Time: 102 min.

By Zack Nix

British martial arts action star Scott Adkins is the saving grace of modern direct to video and low budget action. After breaking out onto the scene with Isaac Florentine’s Special Forces, which finally gave him the screen time necessary to showcase his skills, Adkins has gone on to star in numerous action films, either in a leading role (Ninja, Close Range) or in a show stealing supporting role (The Expendables 2, Undisputed II). Although all of his films range in quality, his martial arts abilities and die hard dedication to his craft makes all of them worth checking out if only to see Adkins kick an enemy to the ground or to see him shoot his way through cannon fodder. In an effort to work my way through every single one of his films, I finally checked out El Gringo, one of four films released in 2012 featuring Adkins, arguably his highest profile year. Produced by After Dark Action, known for low to modest budgeted genre pictures ranging from John Hyams’ Dragon Eyes to the Ethan Hawke fronted Getaway, the film is nothing more than a blip on Adkin’s busy resume. There’s some very solid action on display, but nary a compliment beyond that.

El Gringo, like other unfortunate DTV films, has a fairly simplistic plot on its surface, and yet, its director and screenwriter make every effort to overcomplicate it beyond belief. Adkins plays a nameless man who is clearly an homage to Clint Eastwood’s character from Sergo Leone’s The Man With No Name Trilogy. When “The Man” survives an ambush and makes off with a bag of money to El Fronteras, Mexico, he quickly finds himself at odds with the townspeople. No one will sell him a glass of water or tell him when the next bus out of town will depart. If that wasn’t bad enough, his bag of money attracts the eyes of the town’s corrupt sheriff and local gang. His former DEA boss, Lieutenant West (Christian Slater), is also hot on his tail. Unfortunately, none of these plot threads ever come together to form something worthwhile, thereby resulting in an extremely frustrating film that is far from satisfying to watch.

It’s clear from simply looking at the film’s DVD case, trailer, or title that El Gringo is very similar to Robert Rodriguez’s El Mariachi Trilogy, specifically Desperado. From the electric guitar music, to its Mexican setting, to the plentiful cowboy hats, and even its Neo-Western visuals, El Gringo is a wannabe Rodriguez film, which is ironic given that the director’s name is Eduardo Rodriguez. Even the film’s style is similar to Robert Rodriguez’s work, with its high octane action sequences, fast paced editing, extreme close ups, and gun fu-centric choreography. The similarities are so apparent that it almost hurts. There’s a fine line between homage and rip-off, and El Gringo dangerously dances on that line to the point where originality is almost nowhere in sight. It also doesn’t help the film’s originality quota in that it was released on VOD a few months apart from Mel Gibson’s under seen Get the Gringo, another Mexican border town action film about a down on his luck protagonist. I rest my case.

El Gringo is also guilty of one of the most heinous action movie pet peeves: on screen text that states characters’ names. This is the most obvious flaw of the picture, as it proves that the filmmakers don’t know how to organically introduce their characters beyond a lazy title card. It also doesn’t help that they take the time to give throwaway characters their own title cards and even include instances where one character will state another characters’ name directly after the on screen text. The only instance in which any on screen text is remotely clever is when Adkins walks away from an exploding car as the film’s title, El Gringo, appears next to him, thereby stating his name and relaying the title in one swift move. Otherwise, on screen text conveying character names is one of the worst offenses of DTV cinema, a kiss of death as I always like to refer too it.

I also cannot tell if Rodriguez and screenwriter Jonathan Stokes were actively trying to create a film where their protagonist is constantly annoyed whilst also annoying the viewer at the exact same time, because I cannot confirm if the obstacles that “The Man” confronts throughout the picture are supposed to undermine him as a character. I also have no clue if many of said obstacles are supposed to be dramatic, tense, or comedic, because Rodriguez seems to aim for every tone at all times. All “The Man” wants is to catch the town bus by 2 P.M. in order to leave El Fronteras. However, this simple goal becomes so impossible, that it makes one wonder why “The Man” doesn’t bother to steal a car or ride a bike out of town if the bus is apparently so hard to catch. The poor guy’s money is also constantly being stolen from him throughout the picture too, which is yet another annoyance on top of everything else, including the painfully unfunny scenes where towns folk deny him water.

The best way to describe this movie is if it were an annoying kid sitting behind you at a baseball game as they keep flicking food at the back of your head or kicking your seat. The annoyance may be mild, but the overwhelming consistency is what will ultimately drive you insane whilst watching the film. Never have I ever felt an equal level of annoyance with a character’s plight while watching a movie. But not in a good way to where I want to root for them, but in a bad way that makes their character look uneven and watching the film a chore.

If bad storytelling and unlikable characters wasn’t bad enough, than how about some horrendous editing as well? The technical merits of this film are quite frustrating, as they range from the work of an amateur who has no clue what they are doing to the work of an expert with a graceful eye for continuity and action filmmaking. For example, all of the camera work and fight choreography is top notch, from beginning to end. However, all of the fights in the first half of the film, which mostly come from a repeating flashback, are plagued by some terrible editing choices comprising of unnecessary filters, quick cuts to black, and distorting noises. I don’t know what was going on in the editing room with this film, as these editing choices ruin the natural flow of what could have been solid fights. Superior DTV filmmaker and Adkins regular, Isaac Florentine, who happens to be an executive producer on this project, would never allow for such debauchery in his own films.

With that being said, El Gringo comes to life and transports the viewer to masterful action territory around its middle point in which “The Man” engages in a lengthy shootout with numerous members of the town’s gang. He rolls around, kicks a guy’s shotgun Matrix style, and switches from gun to gun whilst racking up an insane kill count. What’s odd is that this action sequence is completely devoid of the terrible edits and filters that plagued all previous action scenes. Every shot is clear as daylight, with all kills landing hard thanks to graceful cinematography and smooth editing. It’s almost as if Florentine himself swooped into the set that day and took over to deliver the kind of action that he and Adkins are typically known for. But alas, we may never know the truth. Besides this sequence being the highlight of the picture, it’s unfortunate that the driving force behind this sequence is so weak. Once again, “The Man” simply wants to get to the bus by 2 P.M. However, his epic gunfight with the local gang prevents him from reaching the bus on time. It’s a shame that the motivation behind this action sequence couldn’t have been more dramatically compelling or gripping, as it once again results in a simple annoyance. However, the action is so well shot and cut in this sequence, it ultimately doesn’t matter, as a slice of excellent action is all you need sometimes.

On a final note, I figured that I would discuss the attraction and problem with After Dark Action films and propose a solution as well. The kind of action films that After Dark produces are more or less the kind that used to be released by bigger studios and with bigger budgets back in the 80s and 90s. Unfortunately, as old fashioned action films haven fallen to the wayside in the mainstream, it seems that hard hitting action now only survives in either world cinema or on DTV/VOD. And while these contemporary low budget action films have the action and the name value to attract action fanatics like myself, they don’t have the plots or character development necessary to make me or many others care about the story at hand. It’s a shame that After Dark Action cannot push them selves harder as far as storytelling comes. Their kind of films typically have semi-interesting characters who are only watchable because they are played by notable action stars and feature half baked plots that could be told by superior filmmakers. Still, the action scenes in their films are quite good, and that’s ultimately the draw for action junkies at the end of the day. Therefore, until they can merge great action on a shoe-string budget with engaging story and solid character work, they are going to be producing nothing more than mildly recommendable but average B-movie fluff. I guess that’s all some viewers want at the end of the day, but with the likes of great DTV films like Universal Soldier: Regeneration proving it is possible to be great on a low budget, companies like After Dark can do better.

I may be going a little harsh on El Gringo, as many other DTV films feature the same stylistic and storytelling flaws as it. But alas, it’s simply dull to watch, and to me, nothing is worse than a boring movie. Even mid-level Adkins ventures like the goofy comic book-esque Ninja and the drab but impressively character driven Assassination Games are more watchable and even filled with mildly interesting plots, memorable characters, and great action sequences. At the end of the day, El Gringo may have some excellent action sequences and Adkins doing what he does best, but it offers up little more beyond that. All budgetary restraints aside, El Gringo almost actively works against itself and the viewer with terrible on screen graphics, lousy plotting, and horrid pacing that damns the film to the bottom of Adkin’s oveure of bad ass action. Die-hard Adkins fanatics have probably already seen it, but I for one never plan on watching it ever again.

Zack Nix’s Rating: 3/10