The suspense and anticipation Mel Gibbson's Character portrays in the movie is captivating. Excellent movie

Get The Gringo or How I Spent My Summer Vacation as it says on my DVD (2012)Plot In A Paragraph: A career criminal (Gibson) nabbed by Mexican authorities is placed in a tough prison where he learns to survive with the help of a young boy.I enjoyed a lot of this movie.especially Mel's Clint Eastwood impression. After grieving parent in Edge Of Darkness and slightly mad in The Beaver, sGibson brings all the things he does best charm, wit, humour and a dangerous edge to his character. I also seen a lot of similarities between his character in this and Porter in Payback (also the last time he did a voice over) although I never bought his relationship with the kids mother. He had a closer bond with the kid. This was my first time watching this and I was reminded a lot of Prison Break season 3 watching this. I enjoyed it.I never realised Gibson wrote and produced this movie. It was released (for reasons unknown) VOD at the last minute in the US.

Mel Gibson has been slowly working his way back into everyone's good graces. Hacksaw Ridge was a big hit in theatres this year and I think while he might not have as big of a fan base, there's no denying that the guy is excellent at his craft. This was one of his earlier comeback films and I dismissed it because it either didn't get a theatrical release or it was extremely limited. I'm not going to lie, the scandals around Gibson may have played a part too. I just turned this on via Netflix on a lazy Sunday morning and was pretty impressed by it, it was completely different from what I expected. The movie flew by and by the time it was over, I would have happily spent another half hour with Driver and this cast of characters.*Minor Spoilers Ahead* Things aren't going well for Driver (Mel Gibson). He's driving a car with a bag of money in the back with his fellow robber bleeding all over it. Making things worse is the fact that the police and the border patrol are on his tail as he's trying to escape to Mexico. He comes to the realization he can't get away while he's driving alongside the wall at the border and he wrecks the car on the Mexico side of the wall. The U.S. border patrol agents expect the Mexican police to hand Driver over but after $2 million is discovered in the back seat, they decide to process him. Thus begins Driver's integration into the Mexican prison system which has it's own unique flavour compared to the American system which he's already been through a couple of times.If you're a fan of this genre, when it comes to either comedies or dramas centred around the penal system, it's usually American or British. Driver is jailed in a Mexican prison and while you wouldn't think that would be hugely different, it actually is. Driver learning the ins and outs of this prison was different and I found it wholly entertaining. Driver describes the prison as "the world's shittiest mall" and it was really cool how differently it operated. The guards were much more hands off and it operated as more of a contained singular universe. It helped make Get the Gringo a different type of movie, it was more of a noirish comedy/drama and I really enjoyed the direction they took with it.The next great thing about this movie is the character of Driver. Driver is my kind of protagonist, he's not a good guy, he's got a sharp mind, enough grit to deal with the seedier side of El Pueblito (the name of the prison) and enough of a moral code to avoid being a complete scumbag. I've heard this is an unofficial sequel to Payback (which I haven't seen) but the character seemed to fit Gibson's strengths as an actor easily.It's not necessarily easy to watch Mel Gibson in movies again but if you can separate his personal life from his work, Get the Gringo shows why he was one of the biggest stars of his day. He's great here and I like the fact he doesn't mind being the bad guy. Kevin Hernandez held up his end of the movie as Kid, that's pretty rare for a kid actor. Gibson and Hernandez have a good comedic rapport together. I also really liked Dolores Heredia as Kid's mom, she wasn't the typical damsel or love interest for Driver. She had toughness despite having the requisite love for her son. The rest of the cast also fit the bill nicely, the movie is centred around Mel but supporting characters do their jobs.Add in the fact that the movie is pretty funny due to some witty dialogue and Get the Gringo makes for a pretty fun ride. I would actually put it around an 8.5/10. I don't agree with Gibson's opinions or his activities in his personal life but he hammered out a pretty solid movie here. It's very Guy Ritchie like and that's a good thing. I can't give it a 9 because it doesn't hit that truly awesome level for me but I would recommend this highly.

Who would have guessed that looney-tunes Mel would make a great movie-- I thought his best days were long past since he lost his mind, but I was way wrong. This movie is really good and an interesting twist on this classic sort of "Payback" kind of story. It is worth watching just for the Mexican city-within-prison scenes all by itself. It is a solid action film from beginning to end with Gibson really delivering. There are a few scenes of harsh violence, but nothing too shocking considering what people are used to today. I was totally blown away by what an amazing surprise this film turned out to be. Highly recommended as an action/adventure flick, regardless of what you think of "Crazy Mel".