El Chicano

Was hoping this would be a surprise hit but it was pretty lacking. Takes way to long before it kicks into gear since most of the major events/details are done previously in the background. So the audience is always playing catch-up blind. But when the action comes it is nicely violent and gory. Then the movie is over just as quickly.

I didn't particular care for the story, which involves rival gangs, the cartel, and the mystery of the lead's twin brother's death (not a spoiler, it is established very early on and this site's synopsis isn't exactly comprehensive). The movie opens with them as kids one night, then jumps forward in time 20 years. Unfortunately, we see nothing of them growing up so you don't get a good grasp of the relationship drama that the film wants to portray. Some of it felt overly convoluted/confusing, other times like basic scene padding.

But on the other hand, this is a decent origin story so if there's ever a sequel then they should be able to skip all this fluff and really knock it out.