Mandrill (2009)

I've waited my whole life for this

Antonio's parents were murdered in front of his eyes when he was a child.  He has spent his life since then seeking revenge for their deaths.  And he finally gets his opportunity.  The first hour or so of the film was great, one part James Bond, one part Austin Powers and one part Oldboy (a Korean revenge flick).  I lost interest after that as the tone of the film and the characters themselves changed.  The film becomes almost a caricature of itself, which might have been the director's intent.  Directed by Chilean director Ernesto Díaz Espinoza, this action film is very stylized with acrobatic choreography and slow-mo enhanced sequences.  The fighting is more akin to dancing than martial arts.  It could just be a style I've never seen before. 

A good solid action film which pays tribute to the 1970s, Mandrill gets respect with 3 out of 5 Poblanos!

Director: Ernesto Díaz Espinoza
Writer: Ernesto Díaz Espinoza
Starring: Marko Zaror, Celine Reymond and Alejandro Castillo
Rotten Tomatoes: 63% (audience reviews only)
Metacritic: not reviewed