High-Octane
Summary
Bad Hombres is filled with sudden bursts of ultra-violence and characters with questionable morals which makes it immediately engaging and well paced clocking in at around 90 minutes. I’m not sure I’d watch it often, but it’s definitely worth a rental.
Plot: A tense thriller, the film follows two undocumented immigrants (Tinoco and Madera) who take a job digging a hole, only to discover that their employers are criminals. The duo become embroiled in a blood bath, with one of them revealing a secret past that just might save them.
Review: When your movie is titled Bad Hombres it’s a pretty good guess that there aren’t going to be too many characters to root for, however this is still a well-paced and hyper violent action thriller.
Our two leads are Alfonso (Hemky Madera) and Felix (Diego Tinoco) who are both immigrants looking for work; they are hired to dig a hole but they soon discover that it’s for dead bodies and realize their lives are in danger. A violent confrontation ensues and the two men find themselves targeted for termination and go to Rob (Thomas Jane) for help.
I won’t spoil anything, but it doesn’t take long for blood to be spilled with one nightmare after the other making escape or survival seem unlikely. I didn’t particularly take to Felix, but I thought Alfonso was ice cool and believable feeling like the kind of person you want on your side in this kind of situation.
Tyrese is effectively vicious in this movie and he just adds to the film’s sense of constant threat; Thomas Jane’s Rob is tough but he does agree to help the men making him one of the best of a bad bunch. Paul Johansson nearly steals the movie as the terrifying and ruthless killer “Horrible” Steve Hoskins.
At around 90 minutes Bad Hombres is never dull with a simmering tension throughout and solid performances from the entire cast; the action mostly consists of shoot-outs, so if you’re looking for lots of fight scenes then this isn’t your kind of movie. It’s refreshing to see a movie that feels like it takes place in the real world rather than a hyper-stylized one like so many movies feel like today.
I also really liked the score which was haunting and featured some choral music adding to the atmosphere.
Overall, Bad Hombres may not have too many heroes or big set-pieces but the characters are all interesting and the violence and tension should keep you glued to your seat. Worth a rental, at least.