Carlos, don't forget to pack your mini-chainsaw  you hear?

Rating: 7/10 (15 June 2006)

This is a strange mixture of reality fantasy gangster romance. It stays in the mind because it tries so hard to set a new record in violence and terror. I wonder what kind of reaction the makers of the movie expected from their public. Fear? Revulsion? Anger? Lust? Many scenes really are over the top and completely ludicrous, but I guess that is intentional. Why on earth should a Colombian drug dealer during an encounter in a stuffy hotel room be armed with a gasoline powered chainsaw? The chances that he'd himself die the first of carbon monoxide asphyxiation once he started the engine would be high. Well, maybe these are the wrong questions to ask and one should just enjoy (if that's the right word) the action. And Mr Pacino hitting a heap of white powder with his nose like a pecker bird might be worth the admission alone.
It must be said, that the set design is very good with its mixture of real locations and slightly fantastic sets. The movie tells us that happiness and nightmares may share the same background.