I do not understand why this movie was released direct to video when it came across as such a path breaking film? The plot was great, photography superb, acting was splendid. What was absolutely great about the film?- Its background score. Massive, Lovable. I could watch the movie a number of times. Its so good. I wish it had a great release. It would have done superb. Seeing this so great, I often wonder if Mel Gibson had just directed it, and it had either Sylvester Stallone, Al Pacino or Robert De niro playing the part. It would have been legendary. Nevertheless this movie is worth the time and just perfect enough to watch.

This movie begins with a car chase on the American side of the Mexican border with the "driver" (Mel Gibson) doing his best to evade the police. In the back of the car is approximately $2 million in a bag and a badly wounded accomplice in serious need of medical attention. With his options running out he decides to take his chances with the Mexican police waiting on the other side of the border. However, to get there he has to somehow traverse a very thick wall that separates him from them. Needless to say, although he does indeed find a way over the wall, he is quickly apprehended by the Mexican police. They promptly seize the money for themselves and send him to a prison with the expectation of never seeing him again. What they don't count on is the amazing ability this "gringo" has to adapt to the situation. Neither do they quite realize the danger they have exposed themselves to by taking the money for themselves. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that I thought that this was an enjoyable film which pretty much kept my attention from start to finish. I especially liked the manner in which the director (Adrian Grunberg) combined the drama with some action and suspense. In any case, I liked this particular movie and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.

Mel Gibson's career is definitely one of those that resemble a roller coaster more than anything else. From Mad Max, Lethal Weapon and Braveheart to being the laughingstock of the whole media, he hasn't really shined in recent years.Which means that this film is even more enjoyable because once more you get to see Gibson playing the badass we knew and came to love in the past. The movie opens with an American criminal (Gibson) in a getaway car, trying to elude the police by crossing the boundary into Mexico. The only problem is, he's carrying a lot of loot with him and the Mexican police goes dollar-sign-eyes faster than you can yell Speedy Gonzales. Thus they throw him behind bars.What I like the most about this film is the prison itself. El Pueblito is a beautiful place with a character and soul of its own. Kids can live with their incarcerated parents and go freely, you can buy Pepsi from a corner store, drugs are freely distributed in little shacks by a semi-professional medical practitioners and the whole place is almost like a really high-tech prison you could find in a first world country. The only difference being that those are this varied because the country is so developed. This prison is so varied and "open" because the place is so corrupt. Very cool place and an excellent place for an action thriller.Unfortunately the plot doesn't quite deliver. Gibson's character is very resourceful and interesting, plus the kid character (Kevin Hernandez) he interacts with is not half bad, but the rest of the cast, especially the villains, are pretty much cookie cutter and thus dull. I don't really care about their motivations, I don't care about their past and I don't care about what happens to them. I was much more interested in learning more about Gibson's character, but very little is revealed about him. The film makes some references, but you can tell that Gibson is just spinning the yarn.Nevertheless, I do like the film and it's definitely worth checking out if you want to see a good film from Gibson for a change. Not a masterpiece by any means, but a decent film on all accounts.

All the reviews I read about this movie were amazing. People rant and rave about it, but I don't get it. The storyline is nothing new it was just the typical bland action film to me. The premise where an American gets thrown into a foreign jail has been done before, and done better. Maybe I'm missing the point... Was it supposed to be a comedy? I was bored honestly...I thought Mel Gibson's character was cheesy and the fight scene where he was throwing bombs made me laugh. It was totally predictable and unrealistic.. Usually I come on here and trust the reviews but I have to say I totally disagree on this one, I turned it off half way through.