A man with secrets lives in Mexico on an avocado farm with his partner goes back to fighting to make a bit of money before finding himself fighting a much bigger enemy.
Now available on VOD.
Written by Luke LaFontaine and written by Jesse V. Johnson, Mexicali is a fun, violent romp through the Mexican countryside with one of the co-stars of this spring’s Beast showing up as the lead. The film seems to have been made to fit his skills, showing off that he can both fight and act. The writing here is good, and the direction works quite well with it, together helping create a situation perfect for the lead to show off and just right to make for an entertaining film that feels like it flies by on its runtime. Considering that both of them have done plenty of work in stunt departments, it should be no surprise that the action is on point, and the fights are fun to watch (with stunt coordination by LaFontaine). Also, they do not sit on this and ignore the story as what is there is interesting and keeps the attention beyond the action sequences.
The cast here is led by Bren Foster who is making quite the name for himself in the mid-range action world, showing up here with the action chops on point and the fighting chops even better. He’s here to save the day and it’s clear this is his film. He’s solid here and makes for a fun, entertaining watch. Joining him as Estrella (or however he pronounces it… yes, he gets called out on it in the film) is Tania Raymonde who straight up steals a bunch of scenes and runs with them. She’s fantastic and radiant at times. She attracts the attention, keeps it, and gives the men a run for their money while being basically one of two women in the cast. She’s there, she able, and she’s not going to let the men have all the fun. The rest of the cast has some serviceable bad guys or henchmen, and one solid lead bad guy played by Plutarco Haza who has this attitude about him that might just make you care.
The cinematography by Pascal Combes-Knoke creates a good-looking film with a mood that is almost tranquil in some scenes and completely active in others while keeping the general look of the film cohesive. The framing works and the camera movements give the viewers the opportunity to actually see what is going on whether it be in the sun, the dark, or during fight scenes (with a few moments where light and dark clearly made it hard to find the perfect balance without sound stage lights). The images show the places just right and make it look like the weather is just right to that part of the world (coming from someone who lives a few miles North). The editing by Matthew Lorentz works great with these images and allows the viewers to see the fights, something too many films have failed at lately. His work gives the film energy when needed and calm the rest of the time. He helps build some tension and create the overall mood of the film.
Mexicali is an entertaining action film that has plenty of action and stunts to satisfy action fans while also having a story for those who need just a bit more to their films. It’s written, directed, acted, choreographed, and shot like a film that knows what it wants, how it wants it, and how it wants the audience to see it. If you can move past the slight “white savior” aspect of the lead being a white man working to save the locals, something the film makes clear he’s not there for but happens to be there when things hit the fan), it’s an easy watch that is entertaining.