Bad Hombres

Greetings again from the darkness. January releases are always a bit of a gamble - not just for filmmakers, but also for viewers. A few gems are often buried in the indie dump, so an open mind is especially beneficial and necessary this time of year. Landing somewhere in between the hidden gems and the muck is this B-movie crime thriller from writer-director John Stalberg Jr, and his co-writers Rex New and Nick Turner.

Like so many immigrants to the United States, Felix (Diego Tinoco) is a bright-eyed man, desperate to work and save enough money to relocate his family from Ecuador. At a local convenience store one morning, Donnie (Luke Hemsworth) offers a job (digging a hole in the desert) to Felix and another day-laborer named Alfonso (Hemky Madera, "Queen of the South"). While Felix seems eager and friendly, Alfonso is grumpy and hardened, but it's Donnie and his cohort who turn out to be psychopaths and criminals. Things turn violent with a blast of gunfire and a pickax to the chest. Felix and Alfonso find themselves knee deep in a botched drug deal and are forced to become partners in order to survive.

Alfonso's secret past as 'God Killer' works to their advantage, and soon enough he has called in a favor from a skittish scumbag (Thomas Jane) who runs a junk lot with a car crusher. He also has a contact for a local veterinarian (Nick Cassavetes) who is on-call for, um, non-pet medical emergencies. On their tail is a fixer (Tyrese Gibson) who works for the "gringos" on one side of the drug deal gone wrong. Working to the film's advantage is that the actors are all fully engaged and never distract from a situation that most of us can't exactly relate to (thank goodness).

Felix has a dream of bringing his family to the states and opening a restaurant that features his specialty: chicken with pumpkin. While I will likely never try his signature dish, I found this little movie surprisingly easy to watch - despite the violence and low budget (and inconsistencies with Hemsworth's arm).

Opening in select theaters and VOD on January 26, 2024.

Bad Hombres, directed by John Stalberg Jr., is a film that aims to highlight the struggles of illegal immigrants in the Deep South. The plot centers around Felix (Diego Tinoco), who has crossed the border illegally and is trying to find his footing in a new environment with the help of his cousin. They spend their days searching for cash-paying odd jobs.

Stalberg teamed up with Rex New and Nick Turner to create the story, while New and Turner wrote the screenplay. Their previous collaborations contribute to a unified vision for the film. Chris Hemsworth shines as the foul-mouthed Donnie, fully embracing the wildness of his role. Meanwhile, Jane delivers a strong performance as the jaded Rob, providing some hilarious moments alongside Alfonso and Felix.

The cinematography does a great job of showcasing the area's isolation and emptiness, reflecting Felix's personal battles. Stalberg uses creative framing and angles to enhance the tension in various scenes. However, despite these strong aspects, Bad Hombres doesn't quite come together as a memorable or rewatchable film. As the plot veers into absurdity, it picks up speed, resulting in a somewhat entertaining movie that ultimately doesn't reach its full potential.

Bad hombres was a pretty decent smaller budget crime film. It was acted well especially from the two leads that helped bring more realism to it. A man called felix has come to america for work but he misses his chance. So instead he goes to a gas station and after talking to the third hemsworth brother he gets a job. He ropes a not so friendlt man called alfonso into it and the two join him. There is also a fourth man in a car we dont really so. The two have to dig a hole for bodies. One thing leads to another and the pair have to go on the run. Theres also a sherif, a vet and who might be a fake cop theown into the mix. But overall bad hombres is a pretty good crime film that also had good action scenes.

This movie seems to be made by intellectuals who grind their pen in violent genres or by amateurs with no idea of what could go right with this direction. The fight scene in the desert is of utmost stupidity and hilarity. That is if you can go past the premise already. It's a hollow motion picture with immigrants caught in the fires of witty self-criticism of one American Laurel with his grumpy sit-in-the-car Hardy. Remember if you watch this movie, it's like a lesson, don't go out with American strangers in the middle of nowhere to dig holes for $150. No matter how desperado you are. You might get out alive and enrich your family. Only in the American movies.

I thought this was a decent crime drama/action flick.

The plot isn't anything real deep and thought-provoking, but it moves along at a good pace. Just a bunch of bad guys being bad guys... and one unsuspecting immigrant caught up in far more than he knows.

Starts unsuspectingly.. and then progresses...

This film is NOT a "story of immigrants". Sure, some of the main characters are undocumented migrants.. but there's no political undertone here. I mean there's an Australian in this as well.. yet no one whines about that.

Anyway.. well worth a watch for a crime drama, little to no "dead space" - it moves along steadily - and is fairly unpredictable.

Ignore the review whining about Tyrese.. he's got one of the smaller roles in this.

I can't help but think those leaving the negative reviews here watched the first 10 minutes and then posted a review.

---- Good Watch ----