Bandidas 2006 (Movie Review)

Dir: Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandburg
Starring: Salma Hayek, Penelope Cruz
Dur: 1 hr 33 mins
Genre: Action - Comedy
Rating: 4/5
PG: Few kisses and occasional foul language.

This is a girly flick but its real fun. Set in 19 something Mexico, it’s a story of two young women who take it upon themselves to alleviate the plight of their people. It’s got everything you’d associate with Mexico: funny English accent, cowboy hats and boots, horse riding, dusty landscapes, gunfights and of course, song and dance.
Bandidas is Mexican for bandits. Salma and Penelope express a range of emotions from jealousy and anger to fear and humour with professional ease. The film is very good humoured and the villain, ironically an American, is sufficiently detestable to make you want to finish him off in case the ladies don’t but there’s no room for all that because his villainy is only a part of the larger narrative. Harrison Ford has got a small silly role as a rusty outlaw who trains the girls in gun-craft. Salma and Penelope bring a lot of oomph to the film despite their modest dressing, deliver smashing performances. The dialogues are well written the story develops smoothly.
If it’s entertainment you want, this one’s worth the time and money.   


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