Nicotina

Hugo Rodriguez' "Nicotina" is a fun picture, but it is enough to say that it is a Mexican version of Guy Ritchie's English heist flicks, albeit less so. Less violent, less convoluted, less hilarious. And yet, still violent and convoluted and

hilarious enough. So there it is. Diego Luna's in it, and ain't nobody doesn't think he's cute. Rodriguez uses funky wipes as scene transitions, punched up by

goofy sound effects, there's a scene where a bitchy barber's wife cuts open a guy's belly to get at some diamonds. And there's that smoking theme --

everybody's quitting, trying to quit, in denial about quitting, can't afford the smokes, can't find any lighter fluid, something. It's a motif and it's a metaphor, though perhaps not the deepest one ever (you never what's gonna kill ya!). It makes for a catchy title, though.

There is a problem in the mexican film industry: the mexican directors and producers are filming basically light comedies. Their main goal is to recover their investment, they think that comedies with a simple plot is the best way to bring people to see their movies (and pay for a ticket to do it) So, most of the recent mexican movies are comedies and most of them have a great technical realization but with a poor argument. And off course, the actors are repeating the same characters over and over again.

Nicotina is just another urban comedy. As simple As that. The film hasn't any improvement at all. The plot, and the situations are very familiar with some previous films like "Todo el Poder" or "Ciudades oscuras" Here in mexico we're waiting for a breakthru motion picture, with a good and trascendental plot...Since "Amores Perros" or "Y tu mamá también" the mexican films are just the same.

nicotina is 6 out of 10.

I saw a cut of this film back in February in order to cut a trailer for American audiences. I must say that I was not impressed after viewing it. The film started off interesting and silly, but as the plot unfolded it really had no where to go. Actor Diego Luna has done some fine work in his previous films, but he phoned this performance in.

Also, film makers felt that they should use a Guy Richie style of editing in order to spice the film up and give it some edge, but all that did was make the film look contrived.

Right now they are trying to market this film like it's Amores Perros, but this film is absolutely nothing like it, wait till video to see this film.

I went to watch this movie because my girlfriend is a fan of Diego Luna. However, i just didnt get excited at any minute of the movie. Its the story of a young hacker in mexico city who steals passwords from swiss banks accounts, and tries to sell them to the russian mob. The story is kind of boring, and the humor is average at best. My recommendation is: dont spend any money watching this in the movies....MAYBE it will be worth the rental price in a few months from now. 2 1/2 out of 5 stars...

'Nicotina' is a dark semi-gangster comedy revolving around gangsters (obviously), a computer geek, a corpulent Russian kingpin, two hairdressers and a convenience shop owner among others. The premise is interesting and I liked the premise and the Mexican humour.

However, the film starts off slow. The dialogues are a little repetitive but the pace brilliantly picks up after about the first half hour. Rodriguez could have incorporated more style in his execution. The editing could have been tighter but at the same time, some of the characters could have used more development.

The comedic situations, which the characters encounter and deal with, work excellently. The irony is well displayed and the film has a darkly whimsical feel to it. I thought a different background score would have worked better, something with a little more energy.

Yet, 'Nicotina' remains an enjoyable urban film. Diego Luna, Martha Tenorio, Rafael Inclán and Rosa María Bianchi are very good. At the time, dark urban comedies may have been a trend in Mexican cinema but that does nOt stop 'Nicotina' from being fun.