La odisea de los giles

La Odisea de los Giles is based on the novel "La Noche de la Usina" written by Eduardo Sacheri. The same writer who wrote the novel that inspired to make the Oscar winning film "The Secret in their Eyes".

I loved so much the book and I thought the movie would be a gem. But not. I understand that some things from the book are not possible to transport to the language of cinema. Still, there were some details of the book that were missing and could have made the movie a little bit more better, more with surprising moments.

I had the feeling that Ricardo Darín played as Darín. Boring. I couldn't believe his character of an ex fultball player (Perlassi). On the book I could feel so much the spirit of Perlassi. I could imagine what he was wearing, what he was thinking, even if it was not written on the book.

I honestly believe that Leonardo Sbaraglia could have been a better cast for the role.

If you read the book don't expect so much. If you didn't read the book, then is a nice film for a Sunday afternoon. Thanks.

A small village gets robbed of it's well earned money by a corrupt bank manager and the village people swear revenge.

Great underdog story of standing up against the bully. Funny as well. Simply a charming tale of locals, who bond together during a financial crisis. Ingenuous plot. Wonderful acting performances. Simply good fun to watch. 7.5 stars.

I've definitely seen a couple movies with a similar premise to Heroic Losers. In fact, there are elements of this plot that are remarkably similar to Tower Heist, a movie that I found extremely lackluster. The nice thing about this film is that it didn't lean too heavily into the comedy where it felt like they were trying too hard. Instead the plot plays out like a drama, but there is still a sprinkling of comedy because the characters are all quite entertaining. Also, the mere premise of a group of everyday blue collar people looking to pull a heist is inherently funny, and they do a good job of making it entertaining for the audience without becoming goofy or farcical. This is a simple, but well-constructed story that never lost me, as I was fully engaged in the characters and their story. So many of them show growth and development as the story progresses. Also, they all have their own unique personality, so I never once got confused over who was who.

I think the advantage Heroic Losers has is that the plot is naturally built to make you sympathetic for all the protagonists. You like them long before the movie ever asks you to take their side. These are not malicious men and women, but people you could see yourself befriending. Ricardo Darin is particularly engaging as the one who first brings all these people together, and he has some scenes that almost brought me to tears because he nailed the emotion so well. Admittedly, there isn't a lot of story to talk about in this film, because it is fairly straightforward, and follows a linear progression that you can often guess in advance. However, I was so invested in the characters and their mission that I could not look away. Heroic Losers is the kind of movie that could easily become comfort-viewing for me. It has a fun adventure story and enough interesting people that I was almost as engaged by this heist as I am by something like Ocean's 11.

An entertaining dark comedy, very well paced, it never "drops", never gets slow, never gets boring. Great cast, great acting, very good script (the foreign watcher probably won't notice, but every dialogue is made in a "country/rural" jargon, which adds a lot in terms of authenticity and credibility).

My only critic is regarding the lack of explanation of the 2001 crisis (a simple, small explanation would've been enough) because that reduces the understanding of the foreign audience about the severity of the situation faced by the protagonists. But overall, a good film. Totally recommended.

Good actors, good humor, good dialogue and story that correlates with current Argentinian economic and political history