El Gringo
2012 film by Eduardo Rodríguez
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
El Gringo (Translation: Bad Yankee) is a 2012 American action film directed by Eduardo Rodríguez, produced by After Dark Films, written by Jonathan Stokes, and starring Scott Adkins, Christian Slater and Yvette Yates.
- Scott Adkins
- Yvette Yates
- Christian Slater
- Israel Islas
- Erando Gonzalez
- Sofia Sisniega
- Valentin Ganev
| El Gringo | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Eduardo Rodríguez |
| Written by | Jonathan Stokes |
| Produced by | |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Yaron Levy |
| Edited by |
|
| Music by | Luis Ascanio |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | After Dark Films G2 Pictures Tanweer Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 102 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Languages | English Spanish |
| Budget | $7 million[1] |
Plot
Following an ambush in which he is wounded, and his undercover DEA partners are killed, The Man escapes into Mexico with a case holding two million dollars, and arrives in the dusty town of El Fronteras. He faces danger from the local sheriff and his thugs, a local drug cartel, his checkered past and his former DEA boss.
Partial cast
- Scott Adkins as The Man
- Christian Slater as Lieutenant West
- Peter Bachvarov as "Tortuga"
- Zahari Baharov as Officer Bell
- Minoza Bazova as Female Bus Station Attendant
- Michail Elenov as Pablo
- Yvette Yates as Anna
- Israel Islas as "Culebra"
- Erando González as Chief Espinoza
- Sofía Sisniega as "Flaca"
- Valentin Ganev as Deputy Chief Logan
- Krasimir Rankov as Restaurante Owner
- Velislav Pavlov as Officer Dunn
- Bashar Rahal as Officer Sullivan
- Edward Joe Scargill as Officer Conner
- Atanas Srebrev as Rick
- Marii Rosen as "Naco"
- George Karkulovski as "El Jefe"
- Vlado Mihailov as "Chilango"
- Yoanna Temelkova as Shop Keeper
Production
The screenplay by Jonathan Stokes was purchased by After Dark Films in 2011 for Joel Silver to executive produce.[2][3]
The film was shot in Bulgaria and Louisiana at an estimated cost of US$7 million.[1]
Release
Reception
The film received mildly warm reviews. Variety described it as "an undeniable exercise in third-hand coolness, with nods to spaghetti Westerns and '70s drive-in actioners, El Gringo is diverting enough", continuing, "willfully over-the-top action and character types are fun if never quite as giddily distinctive as hoped for."[1] The Los Angeles Times summarized, "not bad exactly, but it's not especially notable either."[8] IndieWire noted that the film's "colorful character[s] [...] don't really get much to do to emphasize their identities amidst the action", adding, "El Gringo gets bogged down in overly-plotty nonsense, but the fight choreography and shootouts are fast-paced and inventive, allowing the film to come alive in spite of its time-wasting peripherals", giving the film a "B−".[9]