Les Sicarios

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.

Those looking for an action-packed, shoot-'em-up thriller might be disappointed, but that doesn't mean there aren't some worthy ideas and narrative threads at work here. This is a slowly paced film, at times almost meditative, but one that rewards a patient viewer. Don't watch it for shootouts and chase scenes, but rather for a thoughtful treatise on men and boys, fathers and sons, the razor thin line between love and war, and the hollow attraction of lawlessness and moral anarchy -- all shot gorgeously in the dreamlike expanses of the Mexican desert.

The plot is fairly bare bones: a young 20something down on his luck, Mitch (Scott Eastwood), crosses the border from Texas to Mexico out of nothing more than boredom, and winds up getting entangled in a group of lost boys who've been taken in by a Fagin-esque leader, "The Captain," a middle-aged vet who uses his ragtag band to carry out vigilante hits on various drug runners and cartel branches. At first, Mitch is enticed by The Captain's promise of money and claim that something special lies inside of Mitch -- something no one else can see. To the completely lost man-child without a father figure, this serves as motivation to keep Mitch serving as The Captain's "top soldier," even as the group quickly devolves into pure criminal violence and bloody greed. By the end, Mitch is forced to find his own ethical code, something to dictate his sense of self-preservation vs. self-worth.

There is a lot at play here, talk of soldiers and kings and the ownership of territory, that all resonate deeply within our current climate of urban gang warfare and political fear-mongering and appetite for vigilante justice. Eastwood doesn't yet have the gruff gravitas and charisma of his famous father, but he shoulders the movie well, displaying a screen presence that belies his inexperience. The original score is haunting and beautiful, and the cinematography captures desolate landscapes and car chases with equal elegance. If you give yourself time to breathe with this film and meander along at its contemplative tempo, I think you'll appreciate its aim to be something more than just another shoot-out in the desert.

(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.

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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I thought this could be an interesting enjoyable exciting movie. But it was a disappointment. Especially the end of the film was unnecessary protracted. You have to watch so much minutes without action.

I had a notion that the action parts of the movie were very dilettante. A group of children without any plan and skills did some dangerous things. Normally they would have no chance against anybody with this kind of behavior.

The guy Mitch had often such a meaningless facial expression. I don't know what I should feel about this sparing of words guy.

All in all it was a boring movie without good action parts and I think the story could be told in much less time. The story could be told in circa 70 minutes.