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Click above to purchase "The Mexican" at amazon.com
The Mexican
review by Zach B.
Rated R
Studio: Dreamworks
Running Time: 123 minutes
Starring Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, James
Gandolfini
Written by J.H. Wyman
Directed by Gore Verbinski
Retail Price: $26.95
Features: Audio Commentary with Director Gore
Verbinski, Writer J.H. Wyman and Editor Craig Wood, Eight
Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary, The Making-Of The
Mexican featurette, Cast Bios and Filmographies, Filmmakers
Bios and Filmographies, Production Notes, Theatrical Teaser,
Theatrical Trailer
Specs: 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, English Dolby
Digital 5.1, English DTS 5.1, English Dolby Surround,
English Subtitles, Chapter Search (26 Chapters)
Released: August 7th, 2001
A film that originally was supposed to star unknowns,
it's amazing how things can change when two giant stars such
as Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt come aboard. I heard the film
was put in limbo for a bit, but once the two came on board
things started to shape up. It's also been said that the two
big stars worked for smaller salaries then usual to appear
in the film. With a budget of about 38 million dollars, the
film earned back nearly seventy million at the box office
when it opened during March 2001. So how does "The Mexican"
measure up? Let's see...
The film follows Jerry Welbach (Brad Pitt), a man who has
to go to Mexico to complete one last job for his boss before
starting a whole new life. He has to pick up a legendary
pistol called "The Mexican", that happens to have a large
back story behind it. With the gun, though, many believe
there is a curse on it. While Jerry doesn't look forward to
retrieving the gun, he is also facing problems with his
long-time girlfriend Samantha (Julia Roberts). Things are
rocky between them and they seem to go their separate
ways... so it seems. They are brought back together when
Jerry goes to Mexico, gets the gun and then a lot of stuff
happens that is pure screwball. Matters become worse when
Samantha is taken hostage by the hitman Leroy (James
Gandolfini) in order to ensure that the gun is returned. So
what happens? Just what happens to everything?
There's a lot to like about "The Mexican", but I'll start
with the acting. Of course, you can't ask for much more then
such acting heavyweights like Julia Roberts, James
Gandolfini and Brad Pitt. I'm not sure how good unknowns
would be in these roles. Sure, unknowns come out of the blue
and capture the hearts of many audiences and minds of
critics, but I don't know, it just seems so natural with the
actors featured in the film. While there has been some
controversy that Pitt and Roberts don't appear in the film
together often, which is true, it's just how the story goes.
People were disappointed with this, especially since the
fine actors and stars they are, but when they do appear,
there is some great chemistry between them and you really do
feel like they're a real couple. While they're on their own,
they do hold their own. They do great jobs with their
respective performances and really make you feel that these
characters are real. They just fit the personas so well.
James Gandolfini, who you may be familiar with from a
certain popular TV show, does an excellent job here. While
so many maybe familiar with him as a certain character,
Gandolfini has been a character actor in films before that
and here he shows off more of his fine acting skills. I
really enjoyed him in his role as Leroy and while people may
always remember him as a certain character, his presence
extends far beyond the small screen. There's also another
big actor who appears toward the end, I won't mention him,
but his small role is quite good.
The script from J.H. Wyman is pretty nice as he delivers
an interesting premise disguised as a romantic comedy of
sorts. He develops his characters well and keeps things
going with a lot of interesting developments, situations and
a load of scenarios that not only challenge the characters
in a single "oh we know way", but in a few other ways as
well as far as their personalities. There's a good amount of
action, drama, comedy and romance in this movie. The nice
blend actually makes it a pretty interesting date movie to
check out. I know it might not seem like a romantic comedy,
but as I said before, it really is disguised as one as there
is a good amount of relationship material in the script.
Wyman also has some nice surprises as well as twists and
turns that doesn't make everything so predictable and easy.
He also presents things so we don't always know the whole
story. Leroy is one case as he features some twists, but
what I liked a lot was the dialogue and how the legend of
the gun is told. A few people tell the legend, and each time
something is added on to it and in the end it's more complex
and makes complete sense. I liked with the flashbacks how
they show the characters, that was presented pretty well
with Wyman's writing and Verbinksi pulls it off perfectly.
Speaking of the gun, I liked the actual gun and the whole
legend deal. I liked how it has the heart and the design of
it.
So we have Gore Verbinski, who did the family sleeper
"Mouse Hunt" for Dreamworks helms "The Mexican" and does a
pretty good job. While I didn't always agree with his
choices he made, he has a nice visual style that works well
with the film. The editing here is nice and he sets the film
at a very good pace. The two hours go by pretty quickly.
Still, not all is well with "The Mexican". I mentioned
the nice premise and I really liked it... up until the last
half-hour. Once something happens to Gandolfini's character,
that's where the film went downhill for me. While I didn't
exactly hate the whole finale and enjoyed parts of it, I
expected totally different things and in the end, I was
really disappointed.While I still really liked the movie, I
felt it kind of ruined it for me. Still, despite this, "The
Mexican" has some really great acting and blends so much
with it's film style, romance, humor and much more. It's not
for everyone, I think most of you will really enjoy it. Be
sure to check it out.
"The Mexican" is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic
widescreen, and once again Dreamworks delivers a terrific
transfer that won't disappoint anyone. I noticed some
shimmering at times during the movie, and here and there I
noticed some dirt, a few scratches and blemishes but nothing
that distracts you really while watching the movie. The
image itself is fantastic, as blacks are deep and solid,
while colors are saturated to perfection that stand out
within the style of the film and the unique color palette
that is featured throughout it. Interior shots look perfect
while the exterior shots look very realistic and fit in
nicely. Detail is also really good which I was very glad to
see. I didn't notice any edge enhancement either. Overall, a
sharp transfer that lives up to the usual excellent
Dreamworks presentation.
Dreamworks pumps out a Dolby Digital 5.1 track and a DTS
5.1 track as usual and the results will give your sound
system a pretty good work out. These tracks are pretty
powerful and really bring the film to full life and I was
really happy and surprised how good they really sounded. I
will say the DTS gets the edge once again but it's pretty
neck and neck with the Dolby Digital in my humble opinion. I
basically watched the movie in DTS and then compared key
scenes with the Dolby Digital. The excellent Alan Silvestri
score sounds amazing through the speakers, while a bevy of
noises such as intense scenes involving vehicles, gunplay
and tension filled scenes really rock the house. .1 LFE
extension is fantastic while dialogue is clear and crisp, no
muffling and no sounds that overpower it. I really didn't
expect the tracks to sound so good so it just makes things
sweeter. An English Dolby Surround track plus English
subtitles are included with this release.
This isn't a full blown out special edition, but
Dreamworks has packed "The Mexican" with some pretty
outstanding bonus materials. The Audio Commentary with
Director Gore Verbinski, Writer J.H. Wyman and Editor Craig
Wood. This track is really dry and I found it to be
pretty boring often, but they share some interesting stories
about filming and the cast. The three comment about certain
cuts and the like. Not the greatest commentary ever, but die
hard fans of the film will want to check it out.
From The Cutting Room Floor features eight deleted
scenes from the movie complete in two channel sound and
anamorphic widescreen. An optional commentary with the trio
is included, as they talk about the deleted scenes, why they
were cut and their overall thoughts on them. I thought the
commentary here was very interesting compared to the movie.
As far as the scenes, most of them are extensions and are
pretty entertaining but when you hear why you'll understand.
You can view them separately or play 'em all.
The Making-Of The Mexican lasts fifteen minutes,
and this was shown on HBO around when the film came out (I
remember seeing it). I expected it in full frame, but to my
surprise Dreamworks was kind enough to include it in
anamorphic widescreen. Interviews with producers Lawrence
Bender and John Baldecchi, Roberts, Gandolfini, Pitt and
Verbinski can be found. Behind-the-scenes footage and clips
from the movie are shown. It's pretty promotional but it's
still a decent watch.
Rounding the disc out are the Theatrical Teaser
and Theatrical Trailer in 1.85:1 anamorphic
widescreen and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, Cast and
Filmmakers bios and filmographies plus Production
Notes that can also be found within the keep case
insert.
"The Mexican" is fine film and this is a great DVD
release for it. Complete with Dolby Digital and DTS tracks,
well mounted supplements as well as an incredible transfer,
Dreamworks has once again provided a really nice DVD
release. Be sure to check it out.
 (4/5 - NOT included in
final score)
 (4.5/5)
(4.5/5)
 (2.5/5)
(4/5,
NOT an average)
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