Les Sicarios

Every descendant of a famous person struggles with the same problems. They all have to prove themselves real hard, so they aren't referred to as "son of" or "daughter of". The prejudices that everything is served on a silver platter for them and thanks to their famous father and mother the path to success is without obstacles, is difficult to avoid. I guess Scott Eastwood (indeed "son of") knows what I mean. If you take a look at his his filmography, Scott has been really active. Although most films sound unfamiliar to me (except "Diablo" which, however, I gave up watching after 10 minutes due to the old-fashioned look and the fact that I'm not really a western fan), he also succeeded in getting a part in "Suicide squad". A movie I'm eagerly looking forward to. Time to see whether Scott can shake off the image of his über cool father.

"Mercury Plains" should have gotten the alternative title "Goonies meet Sicario". Because in essence this is just a film about a gang of scouts members (looks like it in a way) who are led by an (allegedly) charismatic, articulate leader to fight against drug gangs in Mexico. After witnessing some amateurish-looking skirmishes with local drug dealers and a raid by the police, the story evolves into a kind of survival trip in the desert. A bit like "Beyond the reach". It's situated at the Mexican border near notorious Mexican cities such as El Paso and Ciudad Juarez. Scott Eastwood plays the unemployed, American teenager Mitch. He's convinced by a friend to cross the border of Mexico. Thanks to his friend, Scott gets in trouble and is approached by Jesse (Justin Park) who tells him about The Captain (Nick Chinlund).

I tried to be unbiased and gave Scott a chance to prove himself. But I couldn't resist to compare him with his father. And the similarities are creepy anyway. It was as if I was looking at the young Clint again. The same facial structure and profile. The same calm and controlled expression. Also a man without many words and thoughtfully taking every possible option into consideration. Even the intonation of his voice and the controlled manner of answers are similar. Without any doubt Scott's future looks bright. As long as the future films he's going to play in, are from a higher level. Because in general you can say that this was an abominable bad movie, full of improbabilities and ridiculous situations.

Scott's acting was by far the best that you could admire in this movie. That's not so hard since the rest of the cast just made a mess out of it. Maybe the age caused it. But sadly enough Chinlund wasn't too convincing either. And Angela Sarafyan looked desirable, but her part was meaningless and pathetic. Furthermore, I was wondering the whole movie if Mitch's step father actually wasn't worrying about his missing SUV. Most laughable fragment was a confrontation with a known drug dealer. As told by The Captain he seemed to be guarded heavily. But I never saw a dangerous drug dealer being overpowered this easy. The guerrilla operations carried out by this group of young people against seasoned drug cartels, resembled those of old B-movies. The denouement in the sweltering desert looked considerably better, but by that time I already fought against the urge to stop watching. Hopefully Scott Eastwood goes his own way and will be offered a part in a decent film. Like the old Eastwood once said: "Improvise, Adapt and Overcome".

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This film tells the story of a young man who has little future in his home town in the United States. He goes to Mexico with a friend for a bit of fun, but ends up being recruited to join a gang that targets drug dealers for their money.

"Mercury Plains" isn't a bad film. It is just that Scott Eastwood is too handsome and clean shaven to be believable in his role. In addition, when the gang is solely made up of teenage boys, one would really doubt the authenticity of the operation. The fact that he doubts his boss isn't immediately obvious either, because he is an introverted character. Overall, there are some good moments in the film, such as the abduction scene.

As a fan of his father's, it is refreshing to see another Eastwood in an action western role. Young Mr. Eastwood played a very good believable role. The acting was excellent. The plot was original. The directing was excellent. I look forward to seeing more movies of this type from these people. The movie could have been a little longer. No regrets. I give it A's for effort, originality and really just a great movie in this genre. This is a man's movie... not a critic's movie. Respect earned.

(2016) Mercury Plains CRIME DRAMA/ THRILLER

Written and directed by Charles Burmeister starring Scott Eastwood as he plays Mitch Davis seeking for some employment. And after taking his stepdad's truck down to Mexico after a scuffle with him, he is then approached by a man who calls himself the Captain (Nick Chinlund) who offers him some financial help by letting him be a part of his vigilante/ militia group of six or seven, including the Captain's right hand man, Camarillo (Jorge A Jimenez) and his girlfriend, Alyssa (Angela Sarafyan) and other recruits for the intention for their fight against Mexican cartels. This is a no plot movie that centers on situations and characters actions.

"Mercury Plains" is one of those films that in order to succeed just needed fifteen rewrites of the script, at least, to become something truly good or more than just watchable. But nope. This is just like the junk food industry: fast, simple, cheap, somewhat digestible, never healthy or sustainable but it works to some, though the real thing never convinces.

With a more experienced writer this is the kind of plot that could work easily but here someone is making us force to use our suspension of disbelief to the max, and that's just wrong. Scott Eastwood plays a troubled guy with no prospects in life who runs away to Mexico along with a friend to get some cheap fun and thrills. Somehow, he gets recruited by a man called "The Captain" (played by Nick Chinlund, quite okay) who runs a paramilitary group who fights drug cartels. The group is formed by teens, kids and weird types who barely know to use a gun, but they're the ones taking over the place of the real cops and making things right. And as usual things go south, things are not what they appear and Scott is gonna be the real hero of the situation.

Effortless in action, mildly interesting scenes (the final conflict was good but the result from it was a real mess. Epic plot hole). If the idea of the movie is to serve as a pamphlet to paramilitary groups to deal with the drug problem in Mexico, then we're in big trouble, boy. Just goes to show that amateurish folks acting as if being real law enforcements, fighting against real dangers, cannot succeed in any way (unless those groups opposing their own governments in Latin American nations during many military coups between the 1960's and the 1980's. They had some powerful effects against organized movements).

A passable movie due to Chinlund's usual and nice effort as a villain; and Eastwood providing a suitable heroic look even though he's taking too much out of his daddy (silence and expression) and not doing anything creative. There's still time for him to become a real good actor. Except for the fore-mentioned reasons, some scenes here and there, "Mercury Plains" is just for desperate curious minds but you can go without it. 5/10