Gringo (2018)

GRINGO, a dark comedy mixed with white-knuckle action and dramatic intrigue, explores the battle of survival for businessman Harold Soyinka (David Oyelowo) when he finds himself crossing the line from law-abiding citizen to wanted criminal.

Director:

Nash Edgerton

Writers:

Anthony Tambakis (screenplay by), Matthew Stone (screenplay by)

Stars:

Joel Edgerton, Charlize Theron, David Oyelowo

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joel Edgerton	...	Richard Rusk
Charlize Theron	...	Elaine Markinson
David Oyelowo	...	Harold Soyinka
Thandie Newton	...	Bonnie Soyinka
Bashir Salahuddin	...	Stu
Glenn Kubota	...	Shigetoshi Yasumura
Melonie Diaz	...	Mia
Amanda Seyfried	...	Sunny
Harry Treadaway	...	Miles
Theo Taplitz	...	Justin
Paris Jackson	...	Nelly
Yul Vazquez	...	Angel Valverde
Hernán Mendoza	...	Celerino Sanchez
Hector Kotsifakis	...	Roberto Vega
Ricardo Esquerra	...	Sanchez's Brother in Law

Storyline

An exhilarating mix of dark comedy, white-knuckle action and dramatic intrigue, Gringo joyrides into Mexico, where mild-mannered businessman Harold Soyinka (David Oyelowo) finds himself at the mercy of his back-stabbing business colleagues back home, local drug lords and a morally conflicted black-ops mercenary. Crossing the line from law-abiding citizen to wanted criminal, Harold battles to survive his increasingly dangerous situation in ways that raise the question: Is he out of his depth - or two steps ahead?

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Plot Keywords:

american abroad | american in mexico | drug kingpin | drug cartel | drug mule | 

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Taglines:

When you're in bed with the cartel, everyone gets screwed.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

rated R for language throughout, violence and sexual content

Details

Country:

Australia USA

Language:

English Spanish French

Release Date:

9 March 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gringo

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,722,420, 11 March 2018, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$4,969,853

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$11,001,627, 22 June 2018

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amazon Studios,Blue-Tongue Films,Denver and Delilah Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The language spoken by Harold Soyinka in the movie is the Yoruba language from Nigeria.

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Goofs

When the bartender calls Black Panther to come after Harold, his phone's screen stays on, showing the actual time, instead of going blank.

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Quotes

Harold Soyinka: Why do I always get screwed for doing my job?

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Connections

Referenced in Midnight Screenings: A Wrinkle in Time/Gringo (2018)

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Soundtracks

Gettin' Jiggy wit It
Written by Nile Rodgers, Samuel Barnes, James Alexander, Ben Cauley, Bernard Edwards, David Porter, Harvey Joe Henderson (as Harvey Henderson), Joey Robinson (as Joseph Robinson), Larry Charles Dodson (as Larry Dodson), Will Smith (as Willard Smith), Willie Hall, Winston Allen Stewart (as Winston Stewart)
Performed by Will Smith
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By arrangement with Sony Music Licensing
Contains samples from "He's the Greatest Dancer"
Performed by Sister Sledge
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.
By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing
Contains Samples from "Sang and Dance"
Performed by The Bar-Kays (as Bar-Kays)
Courtesy of Concord Music Group, Inc.

User Reviews

Overly complicated, dull and uninvolving.

'GRINGO': Two and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

An action-comedy about an American businessman that's handling the business of a marijuana pill in Mexico, for his American employers, when he's kidnapped by the cartel there. The film stars David Oyelowo, Joel Edgerton, Charlize Theron, Sharlto Copley, Amanda Seyfried and Thandie Newton. It was directed by Nash Edgerton (Joel's brother), and scripted by Anthony Tambakis and Matthew Stone. The film has gotten mostly negative reviews from critics, and it's also bombed at the Box Office as well. I was also not impressed by it.

Harold Soyinka (Oyelowo) is a down on his luck businessman, who works for Cannabix Technologies Inc.. His employers have developed a medical marijuana 'Weed Pill', and they send Harold to Mexico to handle the manufacturing of it there. The Mexican cartel wants the technology for itself though, so they kidnap Harold and demand a ransom (or so it seems). Harold's bosses (Edgerton and Theron) send a professional (Copley) in to Mexico to rescue him. Things don't go as planned though.

The movie is overly complicated, dull and uninvolving. It's a shame too, because the cast is fantastic. I really wanted to like it, and root for another Edgerton to succeed (Joel is doing amazing, he's cast in everything it seems). I couldn't wait for the film to be over though, and I found very little of it to be amusing or funny at all. Even when Sharlto Copley enters the movie, he couldn't breathe any new life into it!