MOVIE REVIEW: Secuestro Express-2005 In Caracas, three local thugs, Budu (Pedro Perez), Trece (Carlos Molina), and Niga (Carlson Madera) are looking for the perfect marks to fuel their kidnap-for-profit heist. Affluent couple Carla (Mia Maestro) and Martin (Jean Paul Leroux) are heading home from a night of drugging and partying, making them easy targets. The gang kidnaps the pair and contact their parents demanding ransom. While waiting for the cash, the gang takes Carla and Martin on a drug-induced, bloody ride. Their first stop is to score some blow at the home of Columbian gay drug dealer Marcelo (Erhman Ospina). Martin is left in the hands of Marcelo while the gang and Carla go elsewhere. They return for Martin and continue with their mission. With guns constantly waved in their faces and facing the possibility of being tortured or killed, it is a race around the clock for the couple’s parents to come up with the demanded ransom. The pair discover the gang 's motives are not what they appear to be. These are thugs with a mission. When asked why they are being targeted, the gang answers them by basically saying they have no right to flaunt their wealth when most of the city is poor. After a strange turn of events, Carla is left to fend for herself. Now Carla must rely on her wits to keep the sadistic trio from making an example of her. Will Carla’s dad come up with the cash or will he have to don his best black suit for her burial? No more spoilers from me y’all!
Alright let me start off with the great points of the film. Overall, this was a great edge-of-your-seat thriller! It was good and violent, the Tarantino influence was apparent in this film. I truly felt a genuine sense of terror and sadness for the characters. Anytime I watch a movie where someone is haphazardly waving a gun in a person’s face, it makes me a bit tense. The acting was pretty good considering that some of the actors had no previous experience. Apparently the men who played the three thugs are well-known rappers in their country. The cinematography was very nice….it provides a glimpse into Venezuela’s landscape, both the city and the slums. Shot with handheld digital cameras, the film has a grainy and realistic appeal to it. That was the way the director intended it to be since he was a victim of a kidnapping himself. Now here’s the bad stuff. The notion of the “bad guys” being darker skinned and the “good guys” lighter skinned Latins bothered me a bit. The roughest guy in the bunch just so happened to be the biggest and the darkest one. Maybe this is a reality of Venezuelan life? I would not know since I am not very knowledgeable on the subject. Also, I felt there was a homophobic dark cloud hanging over this film…the homosexual angle was handled in a very unsympathetic matter. In Spanish with English subtitles, this film is ultra-violent and filled with nasty words and sexual innuendo. Please put the bambinos to bed before watching this little gem.
VERDICT: 3 Soul Claps
Labels: Movie Reviews
This entry was posted
on Monday, January 08, 2007 at 8:50 AM.
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