Auge um Auge

Quien A Hierro Mata is definitely one of the better Spanish movies I watched this year. First of all I like revenge movies, it always gives me some kind of satisfaction, but most of the time in this genre the story is filled with a lot of bloodshed, torture and/or murder. In this movie it's more of a slow burner, but it certainly worked well. There is some suspense, the story is well written and constructed, you never get a boring feeling. And that's mostly due to the excellent acting from the whole cast, especially from Luis Tosar playing Mario. In my opinion Eye For An Eye deserves a higher rating, in this genre it's just much better than most of the other revenge themed movies.

Dark thriller with tension , suspense , twists and turns . The film is set in Cambados, Pontevedra (Galicia; northwest to Spain), there lives the legendary Galician drug dealer Antonio Padín (Xan Cejudo) and his delinquent sons (Ismael Martínez and Enric Auqueris) . Antonio is detained , incarcerated , but pardoned from the prison due to humanitarian reasons, after to have a terminal disease . His two sons, older and more intelligent Toño (Ismael Martinez) and younger and more violent Kiko (Enric Auquer), despising them openly in the belief that they two will ruin the family business. In the old people residence Antonio meets Mario, he is a prestigious nurse living in Cambados who expects his first baby with his six months pregnant wife Julia (Maria Valverde) ; however , Mario pretends to care Antonio worsening his health . Mario results to be a relentless avenger , he is broken by pain , rage and impotence for some deeds from his sad past and attempts to exact a revenge against the nasty peddlers . But Mario doesn't counts with Antonio's evil to pay Mario's cares. As Mario cares Antonio by day, but makes him sick by night as retribution. But he makes a difficult decision, to take justice on his own hands . Nevertheless , the merciless vendetta against drug pushers and drug sealers , leading to unexpected consequences . Then Mario begins his own investigations about the identity of three Capos of dope , father and children , and relentlessly attempts to carry out an implacable vendetta, then doing the right thing in this movie means choosing a side .

This is a thrilling and bleak Spanish film with high doses of suspense , busting police operation , chases , intrigue , plot twists , blood , and violence . Dealing with a few characters interwoven each other , such as : A drug dealer looking for rest, a nurse looking for revenge and two ominous siblings who attempt to take the control of the busines . This stirring story is filmed in slow-moving , following a similar realist and dark style to former successful films directed by Paco Plaza . While the look is suitable sinister and intriguing, the plot spreads to the surprising breaking point , including an unexpected final that turns out to be a little frustrating. Tragedies , frantic action , pursuits and turns abound as when Julia learns about Mario's new patient, causing a sudden bleeding that puts the unborn baby in risk ; at the same time, Toño and Kiko make a deal with a Chinese mob named Mrs. Kong in cooperation with a Colombian drug cartel, but things get awry . There stands out Luis Tosar giving a magnificent interpretation as a nursery chief and personal assistant , being really motivated by the vengeance . As the nurse acts as judge , jury and executioner , Charles Bronson-alike . Tosar plays splendidly the dutiful , stoic personal assstant and a man of few words, however, as the movie progresses we see layers to him, a man on the edge trying to balance . He has come face to face with violence within him spurred on by a violent act done long time ago , concerning an addict relative who died by overdose. The bond between nurse and his old patient is captured on screen, in contrast to his distant spouse who in her own way is trying to do the right thing ; despite Julia's request to Mario for leaving his revenge, he is unable to stop until see Antonio dead . The ending is a question in itself, what does vigilante justice really amount to, it is a matter of perspective is it not? . It is worth a viewing, only for the brilliant acting by Luis Tosar , it is sad to see the rest of the supporting cast could not match up to his on screen presence aside from perhaps the wife acted by Maria Valverde who did not have much dialogue either, perhaps intentional. Here the veteran Luis Tosar is well accompanied by a fine support cast , such as : Xan Cejudo as the aging, weak and ill Antonio who goes freely into a seniors residence instead to go his home with his sons . And the unsettling Ismael Martínez gives overacting as Toño who tries too free his brother from the jail , hurry up to save before being killed and aggressive Enric Auquer as Kike who goes wrong when the Colombian cartel demands him the lost money .

It packs a shading and adequate cinematography by Pablo Rosso , Paco Plaza's regular . Shot in location in Cambados, Pontevedra, and A Coruña, Galicia, Spain . Including a thrilling and screeching musical score by Maika Makovski . The motion picture was professional , though slowly paced by Paco Plazas .He is an expert on rare and terrifying atmosphere . Paco along with by Jaume Balaguero are the main Spanish filmmakers expert on terror cinema , both of whom have realized the box-office big successes as ¨Rec 1¨ and ¨Rec 2¨ , Rec Genesis among others . As he also proved to be an efficient and successful director with films as Second Name , Romasanta , OT , A Christmas Tale and Veronica .Plaza has achieved undoubted success , several awards and important reputation Rating 6.5/10 . Acceptable and passable .

Eye For An Eye is a Spanish vengeance story directed by Paco Plaza (REC, Veronica) and, even though no one can claim that it is a genre-defining crime/thriller, it both entertains and emotionally touches the audience. When a drug-lord patriarch, Antonio, is released from prison due to health issues, he chooses to live in a sanatorium for the rest of his days rather than his house as his relationship with his two kids, Kiko and Toño is strained. Mario is a male nurse in the nursing home that Antonio will be living from now on and he takes over Antonio's case and becomes his personal aid. But Mario has a tragic past that is connected to Antonio's former business as his brother, a heroin user and one of Antonio's pushers, committed suicide 25 years ago. Now Mario has the ultimate chance to exact his revenge from the person that he hates most in this world and who is responsible for the shaping of his stoic and meek personality. Mario begins poisoning the old man by putting bleach to his food and by injecting heroin to his veins every night. Antonio soon becomes totally paralyzed and even unable to speak so Mario's work become all the easier. The premise of the story is formulaic as it brings to mind many other revenge crime films, but the strength of this film generates not from its over-elaborate plot but rather from the complexity and truthfulness of the characters. Luis Tosar gives a magnificent performance as Mario, lending subtlety and esoterical tension to the character who is also the main protagonist of the story. Xan Cejudo is decent in the role of Antonio while in the case of the two brothers, Kiko and Toño, we can detect a gap between the quality of the performances given by Enric Auger and Ismael Martinez. While the second is measured and solemn, Auger seems to over-act his role, but perhaps this is an unfair assessment as Kiko's role is supposed to be a little over-the-top. I didn't like María Vázquez's acting as Mario's pregnant wife, Julia, but this may be due to my indifference over her character. The interaction sequences between the couple are -more or less- tedious but they also act as an intermission to the events of the plot.

Eye For An Eye is a slow-burning picture that will disappoint those who expect a Hollywood-like revenge movie and fans of Kill Bill should steer clear. Nevertheless, there are some nice action scenes that pick up the tempo, while there is also a certain amount of disturbing imagery and I'm referring to the Kiko's prison sequences. There is a well-placed and effective plot twist in the end but the final few minutes are somehow disturbing and then the film ends abruptly, leaving the viewer feeling a bit annoyed. If I had to rate the movie, I would give it a 6,5/10. It is definitely not among the best Spanish crime film exports of the last years but it will keep you glued to the screen and offer you some very nice moments.

There's a twist towards the end of the movie, that might not surprise you (It didn't surprise me), but that doesn't mean that the ending will leave you untouched. But let's move back to the beginning. The beginning of the movie, because there is quite a lot of backstory and we'll explore some of it during the movie. We'll explore it with our main character.

We as viewers may not agree with his actions, but you will be able to understand why he does what he does ... again you don't have to condone it. A really tough and wicked little thriller with quite a punch ...

I think most people would probably agree with me that, if this film was remade Hollywood style, the ending would be vastly different than this Spanish version. Generally, the acting was fine. No complaints about the cinematography, story and music, either. Pacing also wasn't that bad. What was missing? A satisfying conclusion, but your mileage may very.