Get the Gringo
Tags: neo noir, murder

Plot synopsis:
The film opens with a getaway driver (Mel Gibson) and a wounded accomplice dressed as clowns fleeing from American police toward the Mexican border. The driver crashes through the border fence, whereupon he is arrested by corrupt Mexican police officers Vasquez (Mario Zaragoza) and Romero (Gerardo Teracena). When they find over $2 million in the car, they incarcerate him in El Pueblito prison under false charges, keep the cash for themselves, and cremate the accomplice, who by then has died. As one of the only Americans incarcerated there, the driver becomes known as "the Gringo". El Pueblito proves surprising, operating more like a small ghetto than a prison. The Gringo quickly manages to work out the prison's criminal hierarchy and engages in petty thefts and robberies from some of the prison's less reputable businesses. One of these thefts is witnessed by an unnamed kid (Kevin Hernandez) who is living with his incarcerated mother (Dolores Heredia) and is protected by the prison's criminals. Curious, the Gringo presses him to explain why the criminals protect him, but the Kid refuses.
Later, the Gringo stops the Kid from an ill-fated assassination attempt on Javi (Daniel Giménez Cacho), leader of the crime family that runs El Pueblito. After an argument, he learns why the Kid is protected: Javi has a failing liver, and the Kid is the only viable match; Javi has already killed the Kid's father and harvested his liver. The Gringo vows to stop the transplant from happening and to help kill Javi. Meanwhile, the Gringo attracts the attention of an American Embassy employee (Peter Gerety), who easily identifies him as a career criminal. Unconcerned, the Gringo and the Kid work towards bringing down Javi, and the Gringo grows closer to the Kid's mother. The Gringo ingratiates himself to Javi by saving Javi's brother, Caracas (Jesús Ochoa) and revealing the money stolen by Vasquez and Romero. Thugs working for criminal boss Frank (Peter Stormare) have already located Vasquez and Romero and are torturing them to find the location of an additional $2 million. Javi's men kill everyone and take the money, enraging Frank. With the aid of the Embassy guy, Frank sends assassins into El Pueblito to kill Javi and the Gringo.
The resulting shootout results in the Mexican authorities planning a raid on the prison. Knowing time is short, Javi hires the Gringo to kill Frank and sets up an immediate transplant operation. In the US, the Gringo lures Frank out of hiding by arranging a meeting between him and shipping magnate Warren Kaufmann (Bob Gunton). The Gringo sets up his ex-partner, Reginald T. Barnes (J. J. Berry), who had betrayed him, and kills Frank. When the Gringo ambushes the Embassy employee, he learns about the transplant operation and rushes to save the Kid, who has unsuccessfully attempted to stab himself in the liver. Using the Embassy guys's credentials, the Gringo infiltrates the raid on the prison and interrupts Javi's liver transplant surgery. Threatening to kill Javi, the Gringo forces Caracas to retrieve the kid's mother, who Javi has tortured. Caracas returns with two thugs, but the Gringo kills them all. A nurse helps the Gringo by pretending to capture him. When Caracas relaxes, the Gringo shoots him. They grab the money, and the nurse helps them escape from the prison in an ambulance. In the epilogue, the Gringo recovers the missing $2 million hidden in the escape car held in the impound lot, and the Gringo, the Kid, and his mother retire to an idyllic beach.

Review: While watching this movie i was wondering why this movie was provided on a VOD service.....with such awesome stunts ,a strong script and brilliant acting this movie deserved a wide release .I was never a big Gibson fan but now i think i like his style of action thrillers never meant to say that i didn't like lethal weapon series but this in a way is more simplistic and tough.This movie is seriously meant for fans of tough action movies and is not for people looking out for a highly intelligent action movie.This is a smartly and slickly written piece of work which definitely has its ups and downs.The story is nothing new, first half hour is Mel settling into prison life ,but when the action begins it's a very brutal affair.The ups of the movie include the sublimely realistic acting of all the lead actors with Mel Gibson leading from the front,a tightly and smartly written screenplay(courtesy Gibson)and a smart yet simplistic approach from the director.The downsides include the quality of shots taken which i think they should have taken with a much higher budget in hand and also a pretty unimpressive trailer.
It is a shame his new film, Get the Gringo, has gotten such a limited release, playing exclusively on DirecTV before eventually getting a wider VOD and DVD release later this year.This is by no means a great film, but it holds up a lot better than recent action films boasting a huge actor has the lead (Taken is the prime example here) and packs in half the amount of incredulity as those as well.
The movie is often laugh out loud funny - I know that because I was the only one laughing - but that may be you know, I was probably the only American, some things may have gone too fast for people.The plot is a bit silly, but great characters, some memorable scenes, really unexpected locations and scenery, the production design was quite extraordinary, well-paced, good action sequences...Overall, pretty good value for 30 dirhams.
exactly.This was a bad-ass film, I watched it because I was curious and because of Mel Gibson, as I am an all time fan, and I have to say from screenplay to a great storyline to the fantastic directing to all the actors - main and supporting - and to the film all together, I am happy to have watched it and enjoyed it.
Get The Gringo(How I Spent My Summer Vacation) directed by Adrian Grunberg is one of the finest movies to come out in the mid-2012 and one of the best Mel Gibson movies.The movie is scheduled to release on 1st May 2012 in the U.S.A,but luckily in the Middle East it released a few weeks back and I was glad to watch it.Although the movie may be a bit similar to Mel Gibson's Payback,but still Get The Gringo is fresh and entertaining.Story:- A career criminal (Mel Gibson) nabbed by Mexican authorities is placed in a tough prison where he learns to survive with the help of a 9-year-old boy (Kevin Hernandez).Mel Gibson delivers one of the best performances ever.Get The Gringo is a stylish move with loads of action scenes,dark,gritty,humorous,violent and above all entertaining.The director Adiran Grunberg does an excellent job.All in all,Get The Gringo(How I spent my Summer Vacation) is a not only a must-watch for Mel Gibson fans but also for those who are not because it is one of the best movies to come out in the mid-2012.I am giving a nine on ten for Get The Gringo.Strongly Recommended!.
"To the untrained eye it looks as if crime pays doesn't it, but bear in mind for guys with my particular set of karmic could-be's there was bound to be a bump or two down the road." After a car chase ends with Driver (Gibson) being caught be the Mexican police he is thrown in to their prison.
Consequently, The Beaver divided opinion last year and barely made a splash at the box office and Get The Gringo (released in the UK as How I Spent My Summer Vacation) has similarly slipped under the surface with barely a ripple.In both cases it's a great pity and, whilst I'm sure it will have dented Gibson's pride (and bankability as far as the studios and investors are concerned), the real loss is yours.
Get The Gringo is fun, at times funny, throws in a few grimaces and is packed with action that, while not up to the pace or jaw-dropping fluidity of The Raid, is nonetheless absorbing, engaging and the most fun I've had in front of the big screen this week.Kevin Hernandez gives a creditable performance as the boy who is both dignified and canny, a born survivor, while Delores Heredia is sensitive as his determined mum and succeeds in being warm and an obvious potential love-interest without slipping into damsel-in-distress mode.
It's a glimpse into the murky world of corruption where criminals run rampant within the walls that are supposed to restrict their freedom, but instead turning the premises into fiefs of operations.Based on a story written by Mel Gibson, Stacy Perskie and Adrian Grunberg, with the latter making his debut directorial feature after deputizing for numerous films, it has all the ingredients necessary to stand tall amongst this season of summer blockbusters, with a tale that keeps you guessing of the Driver's backgrounds and motivations, which soon dissolve into the basic theme of friendship developed with a nine year old Kid (Kevin Hernandez) who holds a certain secret that keeps him alive within a notorious place, and who may just be Driver's ticket out if the cards get played right.
It took a while to have elements set up and put in place, although you'd get to appreciate the efforts it took to gel all character relationships together, with Grunberg adopting a style especially in the beginning with its quick edits cutting very close to how Tony Scott would have stylistically done it if the latter was at the helm.For all the action that the trailer promises, what truly stood out was a mid section, free for all shoot-em-up complete with its graphical depiction of bullet wounds flying all around, entering and exiting various points of the body, and the requisite slow motion to keep things watchable, not forgetting having the Driver break his cover on his background having to save the Kid and his mother (Dolores Heredia) from gunfire coming at all sides.
It reminded me a lot of Mel Gibson's "Payback" - but this of course is an entirely different premise; that of a world closing in on an American criminal trapped in a Mexican prison.The action and violence is intense.
then just when everyone has given up on his and starts calling him a has been, he whips out a great film like this.The movie is about a criminal called Driver, who gets arrested crossing the Mexican border who ends up in a rough prison.
a 10 year old boy.OK, so a good movie does not forgive Mel for his actions or his views, but if you forget his personal life and just look at his career, then the man can act and has made some fantastic movies.This is not one of his best, but it proves he still has it in him.The story is very good.
It was shocking at first, but very well done.The action is good and the movie is a lot of fun.Mel is back and I hope he manages to get his fans back.I will give this film 7 out of 10."Well, boys and girls.
Great gritty feel with the setting for a good part in a south of the border prison, come ghetto, come refugee camp and a very human character driven story to go with the Peckinpah type action.
A crime gone wrong, the witty loner protagonist, some plotting, the (often needless) voice-over narrative, and an R-rating.It's not "Payback" though, but still pretty close even when considering the main setting/location is a weird prison that looks like a crappy and dirty flea market.This film is not overly smart, not even too exciting and the trashy surroundings can bother some people, but it manages to be good.
A career criminal (Mel Gibson) nabbed by Mexican authorities is placed in a tough prison where he learns to survive with the help of a young boy (Kevin Hernandez).Not only was this movie incredibly entertaining and action-packed...
I learned about El Pueblito prison (which apparently is a lot like the film portrays it to be) and "Bombay blood", a blood type so rare that only 0.0004% of people have it.Urban Cinefile said, "Mel Gibson is back doing what he knows, playing a flawed character with redeeming qualities who is also a resourceful tough guy." Precisely!
The driver meets a streetwise ten-year-old boy who helps him learn the ropes of his new home and tells him of how he came to be a resident of El Pueblito and why he and his mother remain there: Javi.GET THE GRINGO feels like a return to the Mel Gibson we knew and loved from the Lethal Weapon series.
The silver toe studded hit men is a direct reference to an early episode of Breaking Bad where two hit men from Mexico wore those same type of silver toed boot.The action picks up at the end when the guys from whom the money was stolen by Driver in the first place, ratchet up the plot by wanting their money back.I enjoyed this film, but the subtitles sucked, they were bleeding through and hard to read...so unless you know un pocito espanol you might miss some dialog.Check out this flick..
Bare in mind the first hour was debatable for me - started off REALLY strong with the car chase - you think this is going to be incredible but then it all slows down a little but be assured it definitely picks back up in a big way leaving you pleasantly smiling at the end with a feeling of enjoyment and respect for Mel Gibson.
Things become even more complicated when the crime boss he ripped off (Peter Stormare) comes looking for his money.The movie has been said to be an unofficial sequel, 'in spirit', to the Gibson film 'PAYBACK', by fans.
¨If I was going to survive in this place it was time to do what I was good at.¨ People in Hollywood need to stop boycotting Mel Gibson's movies because Get the Gringo is the best film I've seen this year.
Mel Gibson is at his best once again and never ceases to entertain as he's narrating his experience in a unique prison in Mexico called ¨El Pueblito.¨ Gibson hasn't starred in many films in the last decade (since his work in Signs he's only been in three films including this one) and he seems to choose his roles carefully because each one has been great.
Perskie and Grunberg had both worked together as assistants in Man on Fire, a movie I found very similar to this one in many ways.Mel Gibson plays the gringo whose name we never really hear (following the same tradition from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, and last year's Drive starring Ryan Gosling).
He not only has to learn how to survive in that dangerous prison, but also try to recover the money that he stole, and help the kid get out as well.Get the Gringo is a really entertaining film with good amount of laughs and action sequences.
The kid, Kevin Hernandez was also really good and had great chemistry with Mel. The movie not only works as an action film, but it also has some elements from the buddy comedy genre.
He's a little old, he has demons swirling around (including his own), and there are a lot of people that plainly don't like him, but he still can come up with the goods in film.The movie is not half bad, and much like we've seen before in films of his as well as others, but I think Mel wanted to produce a film just like this considering his circumstances.
This is personified in his latest film "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" or "Get the Gringo" which will undoubtedly go down as one of the best "straight to DVD" films of all time.Directed by débutante Adrian Grunberg, who co-wrote the script with Gibson, the film tells the story of a hardened criminal (played by Gibson) who finds himself in jail in Mexico and his eventful stay at the institution.
This is a prime example of just how good he still is as an actor.My motto when it comes to movies is, "If Mel Gibson is involved in it, I am going to watch it", this has very rarely ever let me down.This movie is non stop action and fun from start to the finish and will have you on the edge of you seat and laughing in other places and never lets up.
(Yeah, that's one Spoiler I should've alerted you about but I didn't and you'll know when you'll see the movie yourself) Gibson plays a man with no name -- he gives a number of aliases, (first appear wearing a rubbery clown mask; but he's billed only as the Ryan Gosling character and credited simply as "Driver") an unfortunately timed coincidence -- who commits a robbery and leads officials on a high-speed chase before barrelling over the U.S.-Mexico border.
Once the audience realise they're getting Mel in classic action-movie mode, they'll come around and see that it's that same old Australian bad-ass handling weapons just like the old days, they'll realise what they're missing out here.It's true The Beaver, directed by his good friend Jodie Foster, was an awkward misfire but go back a little further and I defy anyone who appreciates great screen action to deny the cinematic virtuosity on display in the Gibson-directed Apocalypto.
The tone, inspired by film noir but amplified considerably for 21st-century audience, suggests "Lethal Weapon 3's" battle-scar comparison scene, as if this flashback were being offered to explain a gnarly gash — in this case sustained while breaking back into the world's craziest slammer, El Pueblito prison, based on a real correctional facility, in which inmates are allowed to bring their families to live with them behind bars.Gibson's sensibility remains one that chuckles at carnage and sees torture as the most effective way to ratchet up audience sympathies, but still doesn't take itself so seriously that the actor can't poke fun at himself — or old friend Clint Eastwood in an especially amusing impersonation.
Not perfect, but some very nice action scenes (movie starts off with one chase scene, that is "border-line" so to speak).Mel Gibsons character also tries to continue a long tradition of men with no name.
His only friend is a 10-year-old kid (Kevin Hernandez), who lives in the prison with his prostituting mother (Dolores Heredia).Dark and gritty "Get the Gringo" is a welcome return for the publicly much reviled Mel Gibson.
And it is good but only just half maybe.On the one hand it is definitely being a maintaining enough crime-action-thriller vehicle for Mel Gibson but it is never a movie that becomes truly a great or surprising one.
The sort of stuff that can make these sort of action-crime movies great to watch.Mel Gibson definitely still has it in him.
Don't know how it will do money wise but I hope its a solid hit as it should be, it ticks all the right boxes, action, well written, fun at times, great setting, and yes the last 20mins might be a bit "no way" but it does not take anything away from the film.
The gritty tone of this movie brings the somewhat simple idea to life delivering one of the best Gibson action films in some time.
Director Adrian Grunberg has teamed up with Actor, producer and screenwriter Mel Gibson to create this gritty, violent but splendid action film called " Get The Gringo.
I Enjoyed It. Get The Gringo or How I Spent My Summer Vacation as it says on my DVD (2012)Plot In A Paragraph: A career criminal (Gibson) nabbed by Mexican authorities is placed in a tough prison where he learns to survive with the help of a young boy.I enjoyed a lot of this movie.especially Mel's Clint Eastwood impression.
Maybe in the film the odds are against him, but watching this he certainly has something good going for him, it is almost like seeing the good old action movies of his, like Payback or even the humor and action ones, like Lethal Weapon.I think this film works out very well, it is entertaining and interesting all of the way, a great film for the guys :) You should see it if you haven't and especially if you like Mel Gibsons action movies..
when I read about "Get The Gringo" in Wikipedia, and I saw "The film will be released exclusively through video-on-demand" and not enough about it, I just said, well average movie, but it's good to see Mel Gibson again on the screen ...
But as an individual movie this flick is great.Gibson plays a criminal who ends up in an open Mexican prison where the bad guys rule.
I feel like I have to qualify every review I make of a Mel Gibson film, so yes, he is an awful, crazy person, but oh man was this an great movie!
One of the best movies of Mel Gibson- can watch it million times.
it was no surprise for me , i knew this had to be a fantastic movie, check it out: Mel Gibson, Mexican prison , bad guys , a bag full of money , chase in the dessert , corrupt police officers , and so on and on.
Good action, nice story, and great to have Mel Gibson back on the screen....
Not horrible, Not great, just decent or OK.Mel Gibson has been in a lot of good movies so there has to be a dud in there somewhere, I think this one just might be it..