REEL REVIEWS COLUMN: Mobster adds spice to 'Mexican'
By Justin Smith
In a film with such star power as "The Mexican," it comes as a surprise that a non-superstar steals every scene he’s in. Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts are both overshadowed by James Gandolfini ("The Sopranos") who plays a mobster who kidnaps Samantha (Roberts), but I’m getting ahead of myself.
Jerry (Pitt) is a man who "Forrest Gumps his way" through many situations. Because of an off-screen car accident, Jerry gets involved with the mob. His typical assignments require him to "take the thing to the thing."
On what is to be his final mob assignment, he is sent to Mexico to pick up an antique gun known as "The Mexican." But before he leaves he has an argument with his girlfriend Samantha. She doesn’t like the idea of him going to Mexico, but if he doesn’t go, the mob will surely kill him. Jerry leaves for Mexico and Samantha moves to Las Vegas.
In Mexico Jerry finds the gun easily enough but immediately locals begin to tell him about the curse supposedly on it. His run-ins with mobsters, the law, and Mexican locals leave him with no reason to doubt the legends.
Meanwhile, Samantha is on her way to Las Vegas when Leroy (Gandolfini) kidnaps her to assure that Jerry gets the gun back to the mob. The scenes with these two are nothing short of amazing as they discuss relationships and love. We learn much about Leroy in these scenes, making him the most three-dimensional character in the movie.
The relationship that forms between Samantha and Leroy is much more entertaining and genuine than anything Samantha and Jerry share. In fact, in any scene with both Pitt and Roberts was filled with bickering that got annoying quickly. Thankfully, these scenes are few and far between.
Although the film drags at times and the conclusion is far-fetched, it’s still an entertaining movie. "The Mexican" (wisely) separates the two superstars, Pitt and Roberts, to great results. Both actors do fine on their own, but bringing them together is a disaster. Still, it’s not enough to spoil this interesting and often amusing film.
Rating: 7 (out of 10)