Across the Line

Shame I spent full price on "The Tourist" when "Across the Line" was leagues more enjoyable for a dollar Redbox rental.

Charlie Wright (Aidan Quinn) is a man apart-he ripped off billions from unsuspecting people in a Las Vegas Ponzi scheme and has retreated to Tijuana to escape persecution. His self-imposed exile is quickly interrupted by Andy Garcia's character, a Mexican gangster who wants a shot at Charlie's money, as well as Raymond J. Barry and Luke Goss playing former clients going for revenge.

This was a great film about redemption. I'd agree with another reviewer in that it's an "artsy" portrayal, in that the cinematography is vastly beautiful. The shots of Tijuana and the glimpses of Vegas are astounding for a straight-to-video film.

The cast is also great. Aidan Quinn just knocks it out of the park in the lead role, Luke Goss is great as the leader of a group of thugs that includes the grossly underrated Bokeem Woodbine, and Andy Garcia is pitch-perfect as well. Mario Van Peebles does a great job as the tough federal agent going after Wright.

"Across the Line" was immensely enjoyable, a cool flick with just the right touches of drama and action. Definitely recommended.

I liked this movie right until the end and then it became ridiculous. Great cast with some excellent actors. The story was slow moving and at times hard to follow who was who. The usual plot with the FBI acting in a foreign country without authorization--no power of arrests or gun carry or they would have been thrown in a Mexican jail. The ending was very ridiculous with everyone in the public market carrying or displaying guns at the standoff. The supposed Russian professional assassin struts around wearing an open shoulder holster and with his men displaying guns and automatic rifles. He opens fire in a busy public market. Very unprofessional and as if you can get away with anything like this in Mexico. The standoff in the public market defied stupidity. Andy Garcia as an established gangster would never have gone with the "Mexico City" group where he knew he would be killed. How Aiden Quinn managed to get around and end up on a secluded beach is interesting as he had no money with him and would have easily been arrested by the police in Tijuana and extradited. He made no effort to disguise his appearance while on the run. ??? Overall a good movie but the ending on all fronts was very poorly done.

Perhaps the symbolism was heavy handed, but I thought this was a really good low budget movie. What I walked away with was three men, at the end of their prospective careers, each having a decision to make about their next step. And the casting was superb, all men who have had good careers in their own right, but have, for whatever reason, dropped out of the limelight of blockbusters. Andy Garcia never disappoints, but his acting is incredible in this movie (compare his delivery in this movie as a beaten man vs. Oceans Eleven). But I was really surprised at Aidan Quinn, whom I have acknowledged as a good actor, but he really did a great job in this movie. Cinematography was OK, the acting had some gems, there was no good use of sound or music, but the layered story of three men facing their end was compelling. Like I said, given the budget, I thought they did a good job.

Nice screenplay writer who did the nice directing. The casting was great, the acting of all the actors on both sides of the border were also top-notched. There was a very strong nostalgic feeling and melancholy touch throughout the whole movie. Rarely a movie would portray from so many angles from so many different parties: The FBI agent in charge with a big heart, the loyal FBI young agent with a dubious gender mix-up, the two past prime Russian mafia, the hired hit-man and hit team from U.S., the desperate Don of the Mexican Northern Cartel(Andy Garcia was so great in this movie), his younger brother(a very cool Mexican actor), his wife, then, there's the lonely Mexican whore, the scamming con artist(Quinn also did a great and very reserved job) who's so desperately trying to locate his estranged Mexican lover and their love's product, a daughter the guy never met before. All these ingredients were put together so smooth, and sometimes, very poetically beautiful.

The gun fight scenes were carried out pretty good, the sound track, the camera, the editing, the colors...they are all very classy. An obvious low budget movie, but definitely not a B movie, the production money was well spent. Absolutely worth watching.

It is the biggest story of the last five years, yet H-wood will not touch Bernie Madoff because he sold them out and he sold out his own people.

Instead we get films like Across The Line, a shaky shot that takes Bernie's story and dumps it on an anglo guy seekng redemption.

Shaky camera equals tension in this one - to the director that is...to the audience it plays like an episode of 24.

Low budget...original dramaesque.

The real story of a billion dollar ponzi is right there: The criminal Madoff, the son who pays the sins of the father. Is Hollywood brave enough to tell it...only if they change the name of the man.