Medellin

I gave this film a good, worth seeing rating of 7due to its originality with a mix of action and comedy like you've never seen before. Medellín hits the funny bone and the heart at the same time without feeling contrived. The actors are mostly new and refreshing, with Frank Gastambide, the creator, actor director doing a yoeman's job keeping the crazyness coherent and fast paced. The other two main characters played by Ramzy Bedia and Anuair Toubali form a nice odd trio of reluctant heros with Gastambide. Casting Mike Tyson as the somewhat secretive CIA type who aides their mission to rescue Bedia's character's younger brother- a Pablo Escobar, look alike, internet wannabe, played hilariously by Brahim Bouhlel. Totally full of funny moments, and a few good spoofs to keep your interest going...

Franck Gastambide applies the same recipe as his three previous films. But with this film, the result is less successful. Perhaps because certain ingredients are missing: the equivalent of Medi Sadoun's character in Les Kaïra (2012) or Malik Bentalha's in Pattaya (2016) or Taxi 5. Here, he is replaced by the character played by Ramzy Bedia, already present in the two aforementioned films. But it doesn't work, because he's not a source of humor.

This is also due to the subject matter, the drug cartels in Colombia. It's a less interesting subject, as it's been dealt with many times before, and much more brilliantly. A poor choice, then. And that's despite some nice ingredients: Mike Tyson as a trainer or the romantic attribute (Essined Aponte).

Otherwise, Franck Gastambide's talents are still there: a character with logorrheic dialogue, a mix of situational comedy and action sequences that are meant to be, and are, breathtaking, and the dwarf (Anouar Toubali) who brings his variations, much less well integrated here than in Les Kaira or Pattaya. In short, the recipe doesn't work here.

"Medellín" sets out to be a fun action-comedy but stumbles under the weight of a weak plot and lackluster humor. The film follows a group of characters navigating the chaotic streets of Medellín, Colombia, where action-packed sequences and comedic moments are meant to intersect. While the film has moments of charm, it never fully captures the tone or energy it strives for.

The action scenes, though frequent, lack the excitement or cleverness seen in better films of the genre. Instead of thrilling the audience, they feel repetitive and fail to bring anything fresh to the table. The comedy, meanwhile, is often forced, relying too heavily on slapstick humor and tired stereotypes that fail to land. The cast, while capable, doesn't quite mesh together as well as it should. The performances feel disjointed, with some characters coming across as one-dimensional, leaving little room for meaningful connections or development. "Medellín's" attempt to blend high-octane action with comedy ultimately misses the mark. While the setting offers potential for a unique atmosphere, the film's predictable plot and lack of strong comedic timing make it an underwhelming experience.

Where to begin ? PATTAYA was not a masterpiece in any way but was funny enough to spend a good time with friends, some beer and potato chips. We can feel that MEDELLIN tries hard to exploit the same vein for Amazon, but it's just a mindless awkward embarrassment. All sounds fake and shallow : bad script, bad dialogues and (very) bad direction. Obviously, Gastambide wanted to hide this with hyper-speed "action" scenes but most of them fall flat, as the jokes. Ramzy plays one of his worst characters, unlikable and falling off the tracks in the action scenes, Gastambide seems to play a bad impersonation of Eric Judor (the usual partner of Ramzy), and Anouar Toubali (very nice personality but not yet a real actor) seems totally undirected and only used as a gizmo. Stupid romance, poor character played by Mike Tyson, full of clichés and one of the worst ending I ever saw in a comedy. Two stars for the dog, the best part of the movie.

Bad script bad intentions...I mean did they want to make a comedy? An action movie? Both? Non of that...it's a salad of already seen movies, but in the wrong contest...it could have been a light comedy if they didn't went too serious...the end of the movie is more disappointing...completely out of contest...it's like they didn't know how to come out of a surreal story that went too much down. Comedy is not easy, action is not easy...to do both you really need to know your s..t.

Even the color grade is out of contest.

They've missed the opportunity of a comedy-action with a moral for young people.