How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Mel Gibson has shown here not only that he's a good actor who can handle action roles at any age, but also that neo-noir films suit him. Additionally, he's not afraid to stand behind his projects as a producer and possibly as someone involved in the screenplay. There are good ideas and good execution of action scenes, so I am very satisfied with it. (13/08/2017)

Mixed feelings. An average action flick that looks like made for TV with cool moments, wannabe cool moments, smart moments, dumb moments, thrilling moments and boring moments alternating at irregular intervals. Overall, it’s not bad, the last remaining fans of Mel Gibson (both of them) will be happy, but I’m surely not going back to it. (12/05/2012)

Though Get the Gringo is communicative in a post-modern way, it very much comes across as a standard (chili) western. The nameless gringo finds himself in a strange environment, with offscreen exaggerated commentary reminiscent of Anthony Bourdain talking about his foreign adventures in No Reservations, and inserts himself into a conflict between two opposing factions for his own benefit. Instead of Gibson, Eastwood in the lead role would surely have known what to do thanks to his “Italian jobs”. Unfortunately, the impactfulness of the clearly readable western formula is undermined by (co-screenwriter) Gibson’s self-serving attempt to return to the big leagues, which fully corresponds to the “cynical asshole” category (in which he has placed himself many times in the real world). Though the family storyline exhibits an unusually large percentage of scenes in which violence is inflicted on a woman and child (just as socially inappropriate smoking is often shown in the film), the adoption of the role of surrogate father doesn’t fit very well with the tough-guy essence of the film. The unreadable protagonist, who came from nowhere and should go back there, begins to get emotionally involved from the beginning and suddenly the same is expected of us. But why root for a guy whom we actually know nothing about? Also, in light of the number of people whom he kills in cold blood, I would rather stick with my initial impression that he’s just as much a bastard as the others, but slightly more cunning. In non-Hollywood westerns based on the Italian model, that worked superbly, so why drag emotions into it now? 60% (10/05/2012)

Good old Porter, albeit unacknowledged and named differently in the film itself, in a Mexican mode (even with a pinch of umbrella Eastwood style on top). A likable, uncompromising and straightforward old-school genre movie that doesn't reveal or innovate anything, but what it comes up with is just damn good and absolutely functional in every way; even as far as the relationship is concerned. (29/05/2012)

"I was tortured by a Mariachi." Having given five stars to Payback, I can't give less to Get the Gringo. In fact, the film is equal to its older sibling in every way (and yes, even I claim that it is an unacknowledged sequel). Mel Gibson has simply returned to where I love him best, to those rough, straightforward waters in which he swims in unison, armed with equal measures of sarcasm and charm, and his actions in a simple but brilliantly contrived plot are a joy to behold. Just consider how many memorable moments Get the Gringo contains: The clowns, the bizarre prison, the top-notch shootout, "Clint Eastwood", the umbrella scene (which is probably the best in the whole film), the cornflake ending... It's just a really great piece of work. With perfect music and extremely confident debutant direction. (22/06/2012)