A movie review written by: Lee Sonogan

(2013) 1h49min /Crime, comedy, action

“You never heard the saying, never rob a bank across from a diner with the best donuts in three counties?” – Bobby

The movie is about two hardened criminals that get into trouble with the US border after meeting with a Mexican drug lord and the mystery start to unfold. Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg star as the main two characters in the film. With a budget of 61 million, this movie managed to make over 75 million at the box office. The film is based on the graphic novel of the same name by Steven Grant, published by Boom! Comics.

In the commentary, the director and producer mention that many of the best lines in the film were improvised by Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg. The screenplay for this film was featured in the 2009 Blacklist. A list of the most liked unmade scripts of the year. During the four years after that Doug Liman, Antoine Fuqua, Pierre Morel and Martin Campbell were also considered to direct.

In the end, it was directed by Baltasar Kormakur. You may know him from directing the movie contraband and other international films. The actors’ Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington have on-screen chemistry as suggested in the previous paragraph. Even tho the actors James Marsden and Edward James Olmos did a good job as the main bad guys, there is a lot of parts that were slow and dull. The ending leaves you satisfied with a huge stand-off between all the main characters of the story. I recommend this movie to people fans of the two main stars and interested in its concept.

6.3/10