(2013-05-12 20:41:05)

Awesome!

This review is from: Bandidas (DVD) This is truly a sleeper! I haven't enjoyed a movie this much for a very long time!These two ladies should do more movies together, what a raphor they seem to have!I give this 5 out of 5 stars!!!

(2013-05-12 01:22:18)

Finally, a Western where hispanics are the good guys... er gals.

Starting from "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly", and continuing on through "The Mexican" and "Three Amigos", Hispanic actors have either taken the role of bad guy, or innocent bystander in Western / cowboy movies. Hispanic actresses were often absent altogether, or were relegated to non-action roles. Even the Zorro movies employ the Welsh actress, Caterina Zeta-Jones, to play the lead female role. This tradition might explain why this movie flopped in the US theaters. Starring the top two Hispanic actresses in Hollywood, this movie is very entertaining and enjoyable, much more so than is reflected by the viewing it received on the big screen. The movie is about two daughters from different sides of town who end up forming a team to avenge their losses at the hands of the henchman of the Bank of New York. Along the way, they pick up the help of an American criminal investigator by the name of Quinten Cooke. Both women can and do kick butt in the Wild West, each in their own way. One is a dead shot and the other is a skilled knife-thrower. Both are also great on horseback and in hand-to-hand combat. This movie is a combination of action, comedy, and Western. There is some romantic comedy, but no pure romance. It is great for family viewing, and the only nudity in the movie is shot of Steve Zahn's buttocks. Maybe shots of the two lead actresses' buttocks might have helped the movie's takes on the big screen. Overall, it is great viewing for the entire family and the action is fairly tamed compared to what is seen on TV.

(2013-05-01 17:19:18)

Mildly entertaining

This review is from: Bandidas (DVD) Cruz and Hayak are pleasant to look at throughout the movie, but the story is as hackneyed as they come. The only difference is that 2 women are running the show instead of men. The background scenery is nice as is the music, so it is a diverting way to spend an hour and a half. But don't expect any sexy scenes.

XavissimuS

(2013-05-01 05:49:35)

After the spaghetti kind, now the tequilas one…

This little pun to underline the Latin flavor of this movie: you willgot the 2 Latin mega-stars of Hollywood: the Mexican Salma Hajek & theSpanish Penelope Cruz. OK, this reunion is more a commercial one thanan artistic one, but the result is very enjoyable...First, if western was the first genre of my parents' era, now it is afossilized one. My last one was "Back to the future part III" !Bandidas brings back a lot of fresh memories then.Then, commercial doesn't mean "dumb": the story has goodcharacterizations, a little "social" spirit, so it isn't a brainlessentertainment. For sure, the acting is top, and there's a realchemistry between those 2 stars. The only little disappointment wasSteve Zahn, who is here less funny than usual.Finally, a good surprise....NB: Because it was the motive for everyone in this movie & a realdissension with my brother: Who is your favorite: Hajek was his &Penelope was mine...

(2013-04-26 08:45:03)

a junior high level screenplay, childish, stupid and cliched

what a horrible screenplay with a bore-to-death storyline. the land grabbing murderous gringos pushed too far. two young mexicano women, one rich and one poor, turned bandias to revenge for their familias plus a horse smarter than the general human population... blah, blah, blah. does it sound like a junior high school student's writing project? what a stupid entry level movie format! this movie is so pretentious, shallow and so cliched to the extreme. sorry, i used a screw driver to scratch and scrap the whole dvd disk and threw it away.

Michael O'Keefe

(2013-04-25 21:00:43)

Bank robbery made beautiful.

Action/comedy with eye candy. BANDIDAS is a fun to watch romp about arough around-the-edges, but winsome, peasant Maria(PenelopeCruz)teaming up with a beautiful and sophisticated heiress Sara(SalmaHayek), whose father has just been murdered by the vile, ruthless TylerJackson(Dwight Yoakam). Jackson has swindled control of land and moneywith further plans to rob one bank after another to build his empire.The two beauties decide to seek revenge against the villainous baronJackson, by robbing banks before he can get to them. The two loveliesprepare themselves with pointers from the expert bank robber BillBuck(Sam Shepard)and are joined in the robbing spree by a trainedcriminal scientist(Steve Zahn). Quite humorous in spots, but mainly itis the jiggle and wiggle that garners attention. The only thing I canthink to make this movie better is to have Hayek and Cruz joined withCatherine Zeta-Jones and Cote de Pablo(NCIS)as saddle pals.

(2013-04-25 09:12:40)

A good romp

Very funny - the two leading ladies were great but Dwight Yoakams Tyler Jackson, as the villian of the piece, is suitably sleezy & deliciously wicked and like Alan Rickmans, Sherriff of Nottingham in 'Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves', he steals the show & makes the movie. Loved it.

PDXozoner

(2013-04-24 21:18:32)

A Trio of Charmers

This bit of fluff is a great way to spend a couple of rainy hours whileyou're also doing something else... computer work, your stationarybike, or the lighter sections of your Sunday paper.The attraction is in the three leads - Penelope Cruz, Salma Hayek, andSteve Zahn. All of whom somehow avoid the sort of mugging that all havebeen guilty of at one time or another. Or perhaps Luc Besson'sZorro-esquish/Two Marias-ey script is so silly that whatever muggingthey do seems within the acceptable range. Whatever the reason, theyare all three very engaging and sweetly funny and their interactions,when they finally start, move the movie along nicely.However you approach it, this viewing experience is far superior toSahara, the other time Zahn and Cruz appeared together... McConaughey'sabsence makes the heart grow fonder.

JunHyung Lee

(2013-04-10 02:21:19)

Is this funny or historical movie?

First of all while I was watching it, I was so confused because Ithought that the women thieves are twins because their costumes and theappearances are very similar. One of them acted by Penelope Cruz andanother one played by Salma Hayek. As they are Spanish people when theyspeak in English, it sounds like that includes the Spanish's pronounce.I don't know how to explain it but it is true. If you watch this movieand then you will figure out that I am right.This movie talks about Mexico when the United States tries to get theMexican land as really cheap. Therefore they made the counterfeitdocuments to buy the lands less expensive than normal.Even it could beone peso.Besides even they killed people when the host of ground didnot accept their documents. The 2 main characters who are the womenrobbers also lost their lands, so they decided to rob the banks whichare controlled by the US for revenge.Because of its background, i can say it is not only funny movie butalso historical movie. When the US killed the Mexican people I was soupset. How could they kill people as do their fingernails?

CameronWalker01

(2013-04-09 12:00:12)

This had potential

When I saw this movie in the video store I decided to hire it on a whimexpecting a rough and tough western with plenty of action. I was sorelydisappointed when I got it home and watched it. The first forty fiveminutes were extremely boring and drawn out. It could of had saidevents pass comfortably in a lean half hour without dragging itselfout. The action scenes are few and far between and really leavesomething to be desired. Even a few times when I was expecting agunfight it ended up fizzing and nothing happened.The acting in this movie is as mediocre as the action and is onlytopped by the extremely poor script. The movie really has no savinggrace except for the one scene where we're treated to our leadingladies scantly clad as can can girls in what's a very sexy scene.If this movie had been shot in a style akin to the comic cinema styleseen in 300, Bitch Slap and Sin City and incorporated a fair amount ofT n' A from Salma and Penelop Cruz as well as more frequent, longer andviolent fight scenes it would of in my opinion been vastly improved.Overall I give this movie a 3/10......It could of been a 7.((This is my first review so please be gentle, lol :P)

Ed Uyeshima

(2013-04-08 15:59:02)

Butch and Sundance Redux as Lovely, Loyal Latinas in Undemanding Escapist Fare

Pairing Salma Hayek and Penélope Cruz in a campy, comic buddy westernturns out to be a mildly amusing ploy, but I just wish this 2006 filmhad more true grit and a sharper sense of the characters than thescreenplay by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen exhibits. As vividlybeautiful as the two actresses are, together they are physically andtemperamentally too similar to be credible opposites. They are bothcompelling enough presences on screen, especially playing suchself-sufficient women, but the lack of contrast makes it hard to thinkthey are little more than two halves of the same character. They areguided by first-time filmmakers Joachim Roenning and Espen Sandberg,which may account for the lack of visual flair that Robert Rodriguez orQuentin Tarantino could have brought to the story. Regardless, thepacing is lightning-quick, and the cartoonish touches provide therequisite popcorn entertainment.Set in turn-of-the-last-century Mexico, two women are leading separatelives - Sara Sandoval is the pampered, worldly daughter of a wealthylandowner, and Maria Alvarez is the poor farm girl who has relied onher horse sense and keen marksmanship. Their paths cross when seedy,bloodthirsty robber baron Tyler Jackson steals from their respectivefathers and kills them both. Naturally, Sara and Maria seek revenge butmust settle their own class-conflict squabbling first (via theinevitable cat-fighting scene). With the help of grizzled former bankrobber Bill Buck, Sara and Maria become "Las Bandidas", Mexico'sversion of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Things get complicatedwhen Jackson hires New York criminologist Quentin Cooke to track downthe women, but you can probably guess that Quentin succumbs to theirample charms. The script throws in some interesting economic theorydiscussions, but mostly flimsy excuses are made to insert some sillyscenes like having the women dress as saloon prostitutes out of theMoulin Rouge to seduce Quentin. Other than the mandatory gunplay, theelaborate stunts include a Tarzan-like use of a swinging chain, thecreative use of ice skates during a heist, a sol-mo action scene thatfeels stolen from "The Matrix", and a paean to the famous river-jumpingscene in "Butch Cassidy".There is no doubt that Cruz and Hayek are having a good time, thoughthey are hardly stretched here. Even though they bond in a predicableway, it would have been more interesting to insert some ambiguity alongthe lines of "Thelma and Louise". With his bedraggled MarilynManson-like hair bested only by Javier Bardem's pageboy in "No Countryfor Old Men", Dwight Yoakam is not quite as menacing a presence asWalker. Steve Zahn also seems comparatively passive as Quentin, eventhough he looks appropriately dazed in the seduction scene. Sam Shepardis barely in the film as Buck, but he makes his brief sequence countwith reliable authority. The extras on the 2007 DVD are sparse – asuperficial four-minute making-of featurette, the original theatricaltrailer, and a commentary track by Hayek and Cruz, has entertainmentvalue but not too much insight into the production itself.

(2013-04-08 09:41:47)

motherpurebred

This review is from: Bandidas (DVD) Viewed the movie on TV was so entertained by the performances of the two lovely ladies and wasimpressed by the performance of Dwight Yoakam, very good indeed.

Lucien Lessard

(2013-04-06 10:29:06)

An amusing, action/adventure western.

Mexico 1880, Sara Sandoval (Salma Heyek) is the daughter of a richbanker. Maria Alvarez (Penélope Cruz) is the daughter of a poor farmer.These two woman have nothing in common expect their culture. But TylerJackson (Dwight Yoakam), who represents the New York Bank and Trust.He's planning to rob the people of Mexico, especially those who can'tplayed their debts. Sara and Maria find help from unlikely man from NewYork, his name is Quentin Cooke (Steve Zahn). A young forensicinspector. Now these three people are rubbing banks to feed the poorand trying to find any evidence against Jacksin. Since he murderedSara's father.Directed by Joachim Roenning and Espen Sandberg made an amusing comedywestern with the right elements of adventure and humour. Heyek and Cruzseems to be having a great time and they are also attractive leads aswell. This film never had a wide release in the U.S. (Which this moviecould have been successful) but 20th Century Fox sadly decided to notgive it a big release. Which it will probably be a cult movie forcertain tastes.DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transfer (also in Pan &Scan) and an fine Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DVD has anentertaining and humorous commentary track by actresses:Heyek and Cruz,which some viewers might find this more enjoyable than the movie. DVDalso includes a brief featurette and the theatrical trailer. Thislively adventure also have some touches of Spaghetti Western as well.Sam Shepard appears in a small role as The Girls' Mentor has thebrightest moments in the picture. Some might find this movie to bethinly plotted but the ingraining cast makes up for most flaws in thefilm. Written by Luc Besson (The Fifth Element, The Messenger:The Storyof Joan of Arc, The Professional) and Robert Mark Kamen (The KarateKid, Kiss of the Dragon, The Transporter). Besson is also one of thefilm's producers. Flavorable score by Eric Serra. Super 35. (*** 1/2out of *****).

dbborroughs

(2013-04-05 14:12:32)

mindless fun

Caught this on one of the multitudinous HBO channels.When a bad American played by Dwight Yokum forcibly takes control ofvarious property in early 20th century Mexico for the building of arailway, Penelope Cruz and Selma Hayek band together and begin robbingbanks to get the money to fight the bad guy. Its a bit more complicatedthan that but its enough to give you an idea as to what the premise is.Its an amusing romp written in part by Luc Besson (which explains thesmart ass tone) thats never too serious and never too far from someaction sequence. I liked this movie a great deal since its perfectlymindless and the sort of thing you could wander in and out of and stillbe able to follow. If there are any serious flaws its that more thanonce there seems to have been some scenes or some minorexposition.removed since more than once I had the feeling that I missedsomething as characters moved from place to place. Wonderfully acted bythe two leads,not to mention Yokum, Steve Zahn and a very funny SamSheppard (as a bank robber entrusted to train the pair of bandidas inhis trade) Far from the best movie ever made it is amusing, and perfectcable fare where all its flaws will be more easily forgiven. Worth alook for action fans and those who like light humorous movies.

(2013-03-28 06:54:38)

Salma and Penélope make this - just - worth a spin

Just the combination of Penélope Cruz and Salma Hayek is enough to get me to see almost anything, and putting 'em in a western, well, that just makes it all the more delicious. Theoretically. This 2006 film, written and produced in part by French trash-auteur Luc Besson, not one of my favorite filmmakers at all, was a complete flop on release - I'm not sure it even got a theatrical run in the USA - and hasn't exactly gotten great marks from critics. But, y'know, the ladies...and it was cheap, and I was in the mood for more Penélope after the latest Almodóvar film, so here goes.And...it's not really that bad, though it is somewhat dull and watered-down and juvenile and certainly lacking in originality. Let's start with the rating; I'm not one to usually complain about such things, but PG-13? No nudity and very little real violence? In a western starring the two hottest Latinas around? What, are we supposed to be so enchanted by their silly, bitchy bantering with each other, and the slapdash storyline of the two empowered women taking back their country that we forgive the lack of bone-crunching, blood-drenched body count and the covered-up nature of the two bodacious bosoms?Well, almost, at least for a moment here and there. Our story: rich educated Sara (Hayek) teams up with poor farm girl Maria (Cruz) to rob the banks taken over by the evil gringo Jackson (Dwight Yoakam, of course) who is bent on grabbing the whole wealth of Mexico on the pretext that he's the head of some big American bank consortium or some such thing. That part of the film was just so silly from the get-go that I figured, why care? What gets the two ladies together is that Jackson has killed Sara's father and wounded Maria's, and there is apparently nobody in all of northern Mexico who can stand up to him and his gang of a couple dozen thugs.And neither can they, until they're led to ex-bank robber Bill Buck (Sam Shepard, fine as always though it could have been anybody) who teaches them everything there is to know about shooting and escaping and such in a couple of weeks. And when they run into criminologist Quentin (Steve Zahn), hired by Jackson to solve the bank robberies, they quickly convince him - via blackmail in a scene that offers the closest this film ever has to sex - that the mustache-twirling Jackson (a Snidely Whiplash clone if you know what I mean) is a lying thief and the duo becomes a trio from which no bank is safe!The chemistry between the two leading ladies is great, it's obvious they're close friends and had fun shooting this, and everybody seems to be having fun, which goes a long way for me with a stupid flick like this. The photography by Thierry Arbogast, Besson's regular DP, is all sun-drenched late summer, overlit and golden, which usually irritates me but it works ok in this filmed-on-location Mexican setting; the music by Eric Serra is, not surprisingly, an unmemorable Ennio Morricone pastiche and there are many moments when directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg are clearly trying to go for a spaghetti feel, though the film always feels too fluffy and toned-down to ever get there. The action sequences are pretty so-so, with a lot of slow-mo in the final gunfight, though surprisingly not much otherwise.So, it's not really good or bad - if you're a fan of the two leading ladies, or just in the mood for some harmless dumb fun, you could do a lot worse. It's certainly better than Salma's previous western WILD WILD WEST. The audio commentary featuring both actresses just riffing on stuff is plenty of fun, too.

jan_i_am_522

(2013-03-27 16:42:47)

Hilarious!

I found the movie to be hilarious with great performances by allcharacters. hope there is a sequel of the girls robbing European banks!Salma and Penelope are both beautiful as usual and funny. Steve Zahn asalways a clown. We need more heroines of this type instead of the usualmartial artsy types of late. It was great to see sexy without thenudity, and violence without the blood and gore. I purchase tons ofmovies for home use and this one was a risk I decided to take based onthe cast and the cover. I am glad I took the risk, and if there is tobe a sequel I will purchase that one as well. No sci-fi and no hightech, just great scenery and a walk back in time to the old westerns.

(2013-03-25 06:00:46)

Great movie

This review is from: Bandidas (DVD) Found this movie while doing an IMDB search on Dwight Yokam. I knew he had done some acting and had seen him in Hollywood Homicide. This is a great action/comedy and the two partner with each other perfectly.

(2013-03-24 19:56:53)

Butch and Sundance with Cleavage

Considering the two movie stars that headline this project, it is somewhat surprising that 20th Century Fox decided to quietly release Bandidas straight to video in North America. While Salma Hayek is not the box office draw she once was, her co-star Penelope Cruz is red hot right now thanks to an excellent performance in Pedro Almodovar's Volver. Bandidas is essentially a popcorn movie that would be ideal for mainstream, multiplex audiences so what's the deal?Bandidas trots out the usual clichés: the ornery horse, the bickering heroes (including the obligatory catfight), the despicable villain dressed in black, a mangy yet lovable dog sidekick and plenty of slapstick that is predictably broad and downright silly in nature.But let's face it, you're not watching Bandidas for thoughtful character development but rather for the lovely leading ladies who have pretty decent chemistry together but are let down by the cliché-ridden (even by Luc Besson's standards), pedestrian screenplay. Cruz and Hayek provide the requisite eye candy but much to the dismay of their male fans the only nudity is courtesy of Steve Zahn. One wonders what this film would have been like in the capable hands of someone like Robert Rodriguez who has an innate understanding and knowledge of how genre films work but then again, he's already visited this kind of material with his Mariachi trilogy which were essentially modern westerns. That being said, Bandidas is pleasant enough if not an instantly forgettable time waster.There is an audio commentary by Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz. It is pretty obvious from the way they talk to each other - the familiarity and casual shorthand - that they have been good friends for years. Hayek proudly says that they shot the entire movie in Mexico and she even points out the various locations. There are occasional lulls on this track but they aren't too long as the two women recount anecdotes about filming and praise certain cast and crew members. Like the movie itself, this is a pleasant enough track but hardly essential listening."Burning Up the Set with Salma and Penelope" is a standard promotional featurette. They talk about their characters and the story with several clips from the movie peppered throughout this extra.Finally, there is a theatrical trailer.

(2013-03-22 16:48:22)

A sexy cover doesn't make for a good movie

I guess this movie was such a flop that it is getting a very late DVD release, as it did a cinematic release. Luc Besson credits himself for the original idea, but it was clearly derived from the classic "Viva Maria!" with Brigitte Bardot and Jeanne Moreau. Here we get Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz hamming it up during the time of the Mexican Revolution, defying American globalization attempts by a villanous bank agent, Dwight Yoakim, and getting tips on how to rob banks by an aging bank robber, Sam Shepard. Not even Steve Zahn could save this movie, like he did Sahara, with amusing one-liners, because the writing and just about everything else in this movie was awful. The only pleasure that could be derived from this movie is from a handful of loose moments with Cruz and Hayek. Maybe if Besson had undertaken the project himself rather than handing it over to two novices, Roenning and Sandberg, something may have come of it, but as it is, it isn't worth the effort. Check out "Viva Maria!" It is much more fun.

Dan Sjöström

(2013-03-22 10:33:44)

Good entertainment, but that's pretty much it

The age of the western movie has past long ago. A few movies have beengood exceptions since then, but sadly this isn't one of them. Sure, ithas its good moments and there's not much to complain about with theacting. Fact remains that this isn't anything groundbreaking.The way I see it, there are lots of missed opportunities here. Thefriction between Salma and Penelope's characters isn't as much betweena rich girl and a peasant's daughter as it is simply between two women.It's mostly in their first meeting that their argument is based onclass difference and after that it's more of a catfight between twogirls who want the same thing, whether it is to rob the same bank ormake out with the same man. Also their training and careers as bankrobbers feels a little too brief when it could be much more develop. Itwouldn't have to be the length of a Kevin Costner to accomplish that,it's more of an issue with the writing.Steve Zahn's character is very fitting as a bumbling big citydetective, unknowingly helping the villains hunt after the girls. Toobad that doesn't carry on for too long, as he then becomes theiraccomplice/boy-toy. I would've preferred a Fugitive-like chase for alittle longer before he had realized he had been on the wrong side.The bad guy, Jackson, is a very good villain. He's both sardonic andruthless, making him somebody you love to hate. That doesn't change thefact that he feels a little bit cookie-cutter. But hey, he's a westernvillain and western is one of the oldest genres in movies. Speaking ofwhich, at first the slow-motion gun fight in the end ruined theexperience for me a little bit until I realized that it's supposed tobe a fierce fight scene that takes place within a few seconds. That's agood place to use modern technology if any.Everybody does a decent work in this film. Señoritas Hayek and Cruz area treat for the eye in more ways than one. To see a pair of women asthe heroes in a movie like this rather than being tied up at a railwaytrack, yelling for help is quite refreshing. Nevertheless, thiscould've been a lot better. Sad, but true.