I had heard very little about this movie but I knew that it had a lot of all-star talent and it is also a movie about a drug cartel. But, cartel movies vary with such curiosity but mostly in-depth in what is going on in the current world or in the past surrounding Pablo Escobar or War on Drugs. Although, we have focused on fictional and non-fictional movies surrounding drugs/drug cartels like Sicario, Scarface, Traffic, Blow and Clear and Present Danger, we have never have a movie where dark humor is put on a serious situation with a person being kidnapped during a drug situation. However, this particular movie has a intriguing subject and story, but throws it mostly all away at stylistic choices and meandering tones that cover what little of a meaty substance there is.
Harold Soyinka (David Oyelowo) is a mild-mannered pharmaceutical rep for Promethium, who lives in Chicago and is married to Bonnie (Thandie Newton). Realizing that they are broke because of Bonnie's reckless spending, Harold has to make some money. Harold is told by CEO Richard Rusk (Joel Edgerton) that they are going to Mexico to handle business involving a company merger, although, Harold does not know anything about a merger. Harold goes into Richard's office to make a copy of a file from his boss' computer to store in his own drive. Harold, Richard and Harold's other boss, Elaine Markinson (Charlize Theron), arrive in Mexico to meet Celerino Sanchez (Hernan Mendoza). Elaine and Richard have been selling their product to the Mexican cartel to get more money back, and now Promethium has decided to cut them off to avoid harming their merger.
Sanchez goes to meet with Villegas (Carlos Corona) and shows him a photo of Harold and tells him that they are being let go from Promethium. But after glancing at a photo of Harold, Villegas believes that Harold is the boss. Villegas orders his men to go find him. Harold is left behind in Mexico to handle other business. But, while getting drunk at a bar, two men take Harold away and because he is too drunk, he cannot realize what is going on.
To be honest, I try to figure out what any story is about after the theater experience. Here, I have no idea what was going on after the set-up of the kidnapping. There were moments that approached some leniency or entertainment value for example when Oyelowo's character is about to taken away while he is very drunk. And, there is humor in that moment because it attempts you to get invested. However, even in though in my opinion, it succeeds in that attempt, it is sort of a moment of a humor than meat added to the context of the plot. There is too much going on and I kept asking too many questions as to what characters are doing and why they are doing it.
Most of the characters are not likable whatsoever. David Oyelowo gives an interesting performance as a person who has gotten stuck in a terrible situation but with some humor and there are flashes of brilliance to his committed performance. Charlize Theron is quite great in a character that should be in a better movie. And, this is the second movie in which I think Joel Edgerton is miscast, the other being Red Sparrow, and there is not much chemistry between him and Theron or Thandie Newton. The most surprising and fresh performance is from Sharlto Copley who plays Edgerton's brother who is a former mercenary that takes quite a liking to Oyelowo's character and I wanted a movie about him. And, I felt the characters played by Newton and Amanda Seyfried were unnecessary.
Nash Edgerton, Joel's brother, is the director and attempts to make Quentin Tarantino-type of movie and he does not completely fail as he had something on paper and something in the set-up but the movie gets worse until its terrible ending and it is all about style, quips and unintentionally hilarious dialogue. This is a forgettable movie with not much of a competent script in the back half of the story as tries to go for that Tarantino magic and fails.
**
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