Purely Joyful Movie!

Highly Overrated But Still Good

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

This attempted Hollywood style action movie is a shameful example of what a lack of talent can achieve. The fact that it received support from government institutions is a disgrace for Mexican cinema.While the premise is not bad, the script lacks character depth. The gags don't work and, overall, gives the idea of a lack of direction. Instead of progressing, it just keeps getting worse and worse. The situations go from unrealistic to ludicrous and, as the movie advances, it becomes more reliant on special effects which are not credible at all. As a truck advances through the sand dunes of some dessert in Asia, it looks like an old-fashion animation of it.The budget used on this film could be a lot more profitable if put in the right hands.

I guess this is the best movie I've watched far away about the middle east war. Isn't just funny and maintain you in the screen all the time, but also is a very interesting parody of the American heroes movies, specially because there aren't as bad movies as war American movies where everything goes alright and the soldiers save the world -well everybody knows the epilogue of those movies-, so this parody do the exercise of expose the ridiculous American war movies taking an amazing topic: a main leader of the Mexican north narco mafia in the search - with some "bullies"- of his brother in the main center of the conflict in Irak. This "narcocomand" goes to war to release an American soldiers hostages that even the American troops can release so is really hilarious the way that the movie goes developing across the history to reach a good level of sarcasm and irony of those absurd and boring American war movies. An 8 because of course is not The Godfather, but this director should keep doing this kind of works and not be afraid of expose the typical stupid Hollywood movies. It worth it.

Before "Saving Private Perez" started, six indistinguishable action film previews reminded me of the repetition that comes with American action films, threaded with a slim MacGuffins. There were also two comedy trailers that had weird premises, and an outlandish over-the-top trailer for "Anonymous," a scary Tim Burtonesqe intensity/darkness and whopping Foley. Happily "Saving Private Perez" is over-the-top and outlandish,but in a snarky, straight-forward, perhaps satirical, literal way. If this seems contradictory, it is because this film is having it all ways. And that is its pleasure. It is not a mockery, but a tongue in cheek presentation of a Mexican drug lord's quest to save his USA Marine brother held hostage in Iraq (which is somewhere near Saudia Arabia and Holland). His estranged mother had asked drug lord to bring the brother home (alive). Occasionally funny, the film follows this quest seriously.The drug lord recruits a "Dirty Cinco" and they fly to Turkey and camel into Iraq. Much exaggerated, nothing is driven into the ground (but who can really exaggerate the American action film or one of our recent comedies?). Its exciting moments are balanced with laughs. "Saving Private Perez"'s ancestor is Phillipe DeBroccca's "That Man from Rio," which spoofed the Connery/Bond series, using exotic locations and validating French traits including stubbornness. "Perez" validates the Mexican character and travels as far.Production values (2.35:1 aspect ratio)are unexpectedly good. Camera work includes appropriate long shots and scenes are staged for widescreen without excessive closeups. It's not a smooth film, but neither is "That Man From Rio"--you have to allow both their quirkiness and rough edges(cuts).One pleasure of "Private Perez" is the sense of place, whether LA, a hacienda, rural Mexico, Istanbul or an Arabian desert. You enjoy the space which propels the action. Similar to Brazilia in "That Man from Rio" it intrigues without being a travelogueI haven't seen a desert like this since "Lawrence of Arabia." It is beautiful desolation. At one point, the "heroes," climb out of an oil pipeline, cover themselves in desert dust and remind me of the mole men in "Superman Meets the Molemen." The film offers other references."Saving Private Perez" is an interlude from the dispirited manufactured films that clog our previews. With nonchalance, a joke ever so often, an action sequence here and there, it refreshes us.

Just saw this movie during a special midnight screening in the "Hola México" Film Festival in L.A., and let me tell you that I love it!!!! Really funny, with great characters and an imaginative and international story, for me as a Mexican was a touching but also exciting experience to be in an American cinema watching a great Mexican movie. What a crazy and well done idea for a movie. At last a Mexican movie where we are the heroes of the movie!!!!!! I can't wait to the commercial release of this movie in the U.S., I check the Internet and it seems it will be September the 16th of 2011. Viva México and Viva "Salvando al soldado Pérez"!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And the soundtrack was incredible, the score and the songs, all delivering the right tone for the screenplay, the actors and everything that takes life on the screen!!!!!!!