It's Ye Olde Framing Device, which allows a movie to start with an exciting part, then go back and rework that exciting part, and that way it doesn't have to start with a less exciting part, say an introduction to the characters. . : Stan (Gastambide) is our narrator, the de facto/almost adopted “brother” of Reda (Bedia), who runs a boxing/MMA gym in Paris.
They're kind of your average joes, except beefy, and can throw and take hits. Reda's younger brother, Brahim (Brahim Bouhlel), is more of a jerk, an influencer wannabe who adores Pablo Escobar so much that he looks and dresses like him and impersonates him online. Nothing to see here, it goes on, on, until Brahim is kidnapped by narcos who don't think Escobar's part of him is particularly funny, and this plot is officially set in motion.
Director : Franck Gastambide
Writers : Franck Gastambide, Charles Van Tieghem
Stars : Franck Gastambide, Ramzy Bedia, Anouar Toubali
Reda rallies all the tough guys at the gym to catch a flight to Medellin, Colombia and rescue "Pablito", except everyone stands him up except Stan and silly little Chafix (Toubali). It doesn't matter, Reda remains determined. You've got to get the shit out of the clutches of Colombia's most powerful drug cartel, and if all three have to, so be it.
They arrive in Medellín and their first stop is a dirty strip club, and they are so dumb and clueless that Reda tries to question one of the strippers, Cynthia (Essined Aponte), in the middle of a pole dance. Though Brahim surely has his most sensitive limbs tortured by goons as we speak, Reda, Chafik, and Stan are easily distracted by the local entertainment: cheap, high-quality cocaine, and before you know it, they're bug-eyed. . and crouched down.
And then they wake up in their hotel room with a fuzzy brain. Stan even had a very vivid and hilarious dream where they were leaving the club when they saw a prominent cartel guy and decided to kidnap him and use him as trading bait to get Brahim back. How ridiculous! Good thing they didn't actually do that. Good? Didn't they do that? Good. um. Ha ha.
It is then that we meet Don Nacho (Ariel Sierra), the bound and gagged son of El Diablo (Raymond Cruz), who, as is clear from that nickname, is not a humble merchant or accountant, but the cashier. of cash Medellin. most dangerous cartel At this point, it's really only a matter of time until they're negotiating with a man you don't want to fuck by dumping Don Nacho into the ocean and churning up the water and threatening not to get him back on the boat. before the sharks. arrive. Theoretically, action-packed hijinks ensue!
Medellín is not without its incidents, but it is also not particularly exciting, exciting or fun. You'll smile at some of Gastambide's stylistic flourishes, Tyson's cameo, and how the central trio manage to assemble a misfit team, including the stripper and a cute puppy, to take on a cartel and all its guns and goons. . and grumpy bosses.
You won't be surprised to learn that our heroes find it within themselves to become action heroes, despite their reluctance; Isn't it always like that? The film plays out with the zest it needs to get past its choppy plot – the script essentially ties together a handful of action sequences – but it's hard to find strong feelings in either direction.
The movie sells itself as a wacky adventure punctuated by gunfights and chases, but is ultimately too coy or modestly budgeted, or both, to deliver on that promise. It's about 60 percent there: the script lacks the pacing to be truly witty (an open, verbal acknowledgment about how bad terrible shots are is about as clever as it gets), the action is reasonably well-executed but unremarkable, and The Uneven Pacing claims that the film could be cut from 104 minutes to a lean and crisp 90 minutes.
It feels like many other movies before it, and it's slick but not entirely competent, like Brett Ratner directing a Fast and Furious movie for a fraction of the money. I think it's more criticism than praise, so maybe you should skip this one.
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