Pistoleros

I would have to say it's been a while since I've last seen a "shooter" movie that I've really enjoyed. On first basis, I didn't make quite much of it but after 15 minutes I realized that it is going to be an action-packed, thrilling film with a good touch of comedy to go to it. Showing the life of a danish gang through the words of a small-time thug, it gives you the feeling that you actually live the movie instead of watching it. An urban legend says that gangster Frank alongside his niece Tina, a Mexican guy called Ramirez and two brothers: Shameer and Pucha robbed a train containing 20 millions. Now, two young movie producers want to know the entire story and put it on tape. Teir sources give them entirely different stories. To top it all of, the end of the movie gives a terrible shock, another different "mini - story" shown in the credits. The acting is pretty good and the fighting and shooting scenes are well built. Overall, I give this movie a well deserved 8.

Robert Rodriguez is one of the biggest success stories in Hollywood in a long time. He went from making El Mariachi with pennies to making some of the biggest budgeted flicks in Hollywood. His recent films have been fantastic but he will always be identified with his first trio of films that are basically shoot'em up, over the top, action flicks that took Antonio Banderas into the spotlight. It is obvious that Pistoleros director Shaky Rodriguez has studied his films very closely and has managed to capture some of magic of those early projects.

Pistoleros follows a director and his producer who are curious about an urban legend that says a gangster has hidden $5 million somewhere in Denmark. They sit down with one of the conmen who has come out of the woodwork to help them piece together the urban legend for film. As he begins to tell his tale they quickly learn this involved every conman, thief and hustler in town. When a heist goes wrong the money is buried somewhere and the only clue the criminal behind the robbery left behind was a sequence of tattoos that will lead to where the money is hidden. But is there really any money? How much of this story is true? I have to say that right away this movie will distinguish itself from anything you have ever seen like this. The spoken language is Danish and I have never seen a movie of this nature outside of the U.S. or Mexico. Loaded with action, guns, and tons of sexy chicks this flick really has it all. The best way to describe the style of this film is Robert Rodriguez meets Louis Leterrier.

The fight scenes in this film are perfectly executed and well choreographed. If you enjoy watching Jason Statham kick some butt wait until you see Daniell Edwards scene in the parking lot. Its a final battle to revenge his fathers death and goes all out. To say the least I was more than impressed with the conviction he put into his role in the film. The gun fights are also executed with a certain panache that you usually only see from someone who has a lot more experience.

Not only are we treated to a treasure hunt of sorts but we also get some nice subtle comedy thrown into the mix as well. The head crime boss Frank is always smacking his younger son, Brian around trying to get him to understand the ways of a true gangster. Unfortunately Brian takes this the wrong way and in the end it ends up to be a huge mistake. But nevertheless the dark comedy is thread throughout even when someone is shot there always seems to be some funny outcome to the violence. This creates a great overall feeling to the film.

Overall I really enjoyed Pistoleros and all of its ultra violence. A perfect mash up of gangsters, sexy women and guns for anyone. So if you are a fan of gun toting flicks with a hint of the old spaghetti westerns this is a must. Definitely the best shoot'em up I have ever seen out of Denmark. Give it a shot, you won't regret it.

I saw this last month at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. Director/writer Shaky González was born in Chile raised in Denmark and in this comedy-adventure spoof of spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leon and Mexican bandit films of Robert Rodriguez, González spins a modern yarn about Danish gangsters. Or maybe just a tale about a dysfunctional urban family that has grown out of proportion. A couple of filmmakers are intrigued by the story of a multi-million dollar heist by a gang of thieves led by Frank Lories (Erik Holmey), a master criminal and the strongest and most feared man in Copenhagen. Also in the gang are Frank's two sons Sonny (Daniell Edwards) and Brian (Dennis Dean) and his niece Tina (Sophie Lossen-Kahlke). The other thugs-turned adversaries include Ramirez (Hector Vega Mauricio), Pucha (Sami Darr), Shameer (Mustafa Ali), Ivan (Zlatko Buric) and Tuki (Salah el Koussa). Seven years after the heist there are many different stories on how much was stolen, what happened to the gang members and what became of the stolen loot. In each telling the story looms larger. Those who leave the theater before the credits roll will miss the big picture as much will become evident as the epilogue continues behind the closing credits. There is a lot of comedy here and it comes across as a really good bad movie. I would give this a 7.0 out of 10.