What’s we gots here is a real heist movie. That goes immediately wrong. How wrong? Mexico prison wrong. But is that such a bad thing? Well, yeah, for most, it is. But, for this fuckin guy? Land of crime opportunity. And maybe even something that doesn’t suck. Well, for a prison, at least, Mexican or otherwise.
So, a couple of fuckin clowns are running from the cops. Literally. But in a car. Except ‘Drivin from the cops’ doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, so I’m takin some artistic liberties here. The driver survives after crashing over the Mexican border, with a LOT of foldin money on hand. The cops involved may not be the most scrupulous of people, so said cash disappears and said surviving clown ends up in a Mexican prison. Corruption at the Southern Border? Whhaa? You Don’t Say! The driver, self-identified as “Richard Johnson” aka Dick Johnson (when asked about his name, “It is unfortunate”) seems to realize, is this a prison or the world’s shittiest mall? But it’s not all gravy. Fortunately for him, he’s a savvy hombre, he watches, he schemes, but most of all he wants his money back.
This is a fantastic crime caper-ish kinda movie. Mel Gibson does a great job doing good as the bad guy. There’s worse people than him out there, so it’s all kinda subjective as he makes his way in this new environment. The local Tijuana Consulate (played with a greasy finesse by Peter Gerety, who is NOT Saul True Romance Rubinek, btw, [though they probably could be brothers]), plus a few others you will recognize in smaller roles. Gibson is obviously familiar with Donald E. Westlake’s material, he was in Payback (under Westlake’s pseudonym Richard Stark as basically the ‘Parker’ character that’s hit the screens in various incarnations). This is absolutely in that vein of seriousness with a black humor underpinning. Interesting look at a version of the Mexican prison system as well, at least for the time.
