Following an ambush in which he is wounded, and his undercover DEA partners are killed, The Man escapes into Mexico with a case holding two million dollars, and arrives in the dusty town of El Fronteras. He faces danger from the local sheriff and his thugs, a local drug cartel, his checkered past and his former DEA boss.
The film was shot in Bulgaria and Louisiana at an estimated cost of US$7 million.[1]
Release
The film was released in the United States to theatres on May 11, 2012, with an MPAA "R" rating.[1] As part of the "After Dark Action" bundle, the film showed for one week in ten cities,[4] and was simultaneously released for video on demand.[5][6][7]
Reception
The film received mildly warm reviews. Variety described it as "an undeniable exercise in third-hand coolness, with nods to spaghetti Westerns and '70s drive-in actioners, El Gringo is diverting enough", continuing, "willfully over-the-top action and character types are fun if never quite as giddily distinctive as hoped for."[1] The Los Angeles Times summarized, "not bad exactly, but it's not especially notable either."[8]IndieWire noted that the film's "colorful character[s] [...] don't really get much to do to emphasize their identities amidst the action", adding, "El Gringo gets bogged down in overly-plotty nonsense, but the fight choreography and shootouts are fast-paced and inventive, allowing the film to come alive in spite of its time-wasting peripherals", giving the film a "B−".[9]
