Directed by: Ernesto Diaz Espinoza
Starring: Marko Zaror, Alejandro Castillo
MPAA Rating: R
Distributed by: Magnolia Home Entertainment
Release Date: February 28, 2012
Running Time: 88 minutes
Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 1.5 out of 5 stars
“Mandrill” is a Spanish James Bond-esque movie. I did not expect that when I watched this but it was exactly what you got. The film is also a real ode to the 70’s grindhouse style action films. Mandrill is one bad-ass mother…shut your mouth. He packs some awesome martial arts moves and is not afraid to show off his skills. It is a mix of assassin film mixed with a revenge twist. The storyline is very campy and over-the-top but that is expected, though the action really takes the lead in this film.
The film follows Antonio “Mandrill” Espinoza who is a hired assassin with a deadly vengeance on the burner from when his parents were brutally murdered during his childhood. When Mandrill gets a job that would avenge his parents death, he looks at it as his final job. Although he gets a lot more than he bargains for when he falls for the target’s daughter.
The Blu-ray presentation is excellent boasting a sharp high-def video and impressive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio track. The video although shot in HD has a real grindhouse gritty feel on purpose. The fight scenes specifically both looked and sounded amazing. The extras though on the release was very disappointing. There is a brief less than three minute behind the scenes featurette. “Anatomy of a Fight Scene” lasted less than eight minutes and focused a a few of the film’s fight scenes and lastly there are some trailers included. They are all presented in standard definition and were way too short.