The Arroyo

I would not go into this movie expecting the typical Hollywood blockbuster nor the typical low budget, local talent flop. It is a STRONG in between with some VERY decent acting at times, decent cinematography, and most of the time very good visual effects. Sound won't win any awards but considering the budget is not so distracting that you can't pay attention to the acting.

I liked the plot and continuity as it stepped outside the classical, stereotypical Hollywood good guys win all the time. There were some surprises that I did not expect which kept me watching. There are some scenes that should have been edited out, but don't let them bother you. They are few and far between. I would like to see a sequel following the characters and expanding the storyline to play out a scenario which embraces the political issues and brings all three sides (there are three, not two) together.

If you take the best single episode of Breaking Bad (Ozymandias) and then tell the story of No Country for Old Men in a slightly different way to get there, that's The Arroyo. Someone once said there were no new ideas, and this movie proves it. Still, for a moment of entertainment to leave you probably wondering what our government is waiting for, watch this one.

It's not top notch acting, and as a Daily Wire production it's going to have a message, but it gets the job done. It's a slow start that introduces the characters and the problem. You've seen this kind of thing before. Thank goodness this is a rather short runtime for a feature-length film at only about 80 minutes. The ending is worth plodding through the set-up.

OK, so this is a B movie. It lacks the textural depth of a first-rate Hollywood production, but it's watchable, which is more than I can say for a lot of B movies. Whether you like this movie or not will depend largely on which side of the political divide you stand on. It's unlikely that any lefties will choose to watch this movie, but if they do, it will probably only be to give it a negative review. In fact, it's somewhat refreshing to see more conservative values featured for a change. Hollywood would never do it.

As in most B movies, some actors perform better than others. For the most part, the acting is tolerable. The bad guy is bad and in the mold of the 'No Country for Old Men' villain. Some scenes are actually quite nicely directed.

I don't live on the border so I have little idea how true this story could be, but my guess it has some truth in it. For those seriously interested in this topic, I highly recommend the Oscar nominated documentary, Cartel Land, which is a real eye-opener. But The Arroyo will do as an introduction to the topic.

A rancher, tired of the damages caused to his ranch every night by the illegal immigrants crossing the border, runs afoul of the cartel and coyotes. Frustrated with his government's lack of response or willingness to deal with the issue directly, he takes things into his own hands, and attempts to disrupt the nightly immigrations.

This is a movie that will get high marks from the right-wingers and gun rights activists, and will get comparisons to "No Country For Old Men". It is not as suspenseful as "No Country...", but it is, perhaps, closer to reality and less fictitious than "No Country...". Kenny Maines and Danny Armendariz both do great jobs of being believable characters.

Whatever your political views, it's a pretty good show and worth watching, especially if you live in the western US, where you might be closer to the issue of illegal immigration.

The Arroyo is better than most of the low budget (independent?) stuff being made today. Quite a few mistakes but compared to some of the 'basura' I have endured on Neflix and Amazon, it is a gem. Ok, some problems: the political meeting that the men attended was for a Maricopa congressman. Phoenix, the capital of AZ is in Maricopa county, but they do not have any dirt on the border. In fact, Phoenix is 150 miles north of the border. Tucson, where I am from is still 50 miles from the border. The long stretch of AZ/Mex border pretty much has only three towns of any size; Yuma, Nogales, and Douglas. Also, this land is very hot and barren and does not work out well for cattle or ranching with the exception of "porky spas" and the High Chapperal.

I've waundered astray, so back to the film. The characters were a bit redundant and the lines given them a bit cliche, but overall performed adequately. Not much depth given to the wife and the son was a little too "old west" for a modern rendering. The cartels down here in the Southwest are invasive, however not suicidal as portrayed in the flick.

Once again, a decent movie for the buck.