El Chicano (film)

El Chicano is a 2018 American superhero film directed by Ben Hernandez Bray, who co-wrote the screenplay with Joe Carnahan.[3] It stars Raúl Castillo, Aimee Garcia, and George Lopez.[4] The film has been called the "first Latino superhero movie".[5] It premiered in September 2018 at the Los Angeles Film Festival and was released in the United States on May 3, 2019.

El Chicano
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBen Hernandez Bray
Produced byJoe Carnahan
Written by
  • Ben Hernandez Bray
  • Joe Carnahan
Starring
Edited byJason Hellmann
Production
company
WarParty Films
Distributed byBriarcliff Entertainment
Release date
  • September 22, 2018 (2018-09-22) (LAFF)
  • May 3, 2019 (2019-05-03) (United States)
Running time
107 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$8 million[1]
Box office$1.4 million[2]

Premise

After a gang leader named Shotgun murders several members of his own gang, Los Angeles police detective Diego Hernandez learns of a connection between the gang murders and the death of his own brother Pedro. Diego's investigation reveals that Pedro had planned to resurrect the identity of a masked vigilante named "El Chicano" in order to repel the incursion into East Los Angeles, California of a Mexican cartel led by a Mexican nationalist seeking to reclaim California as Mexican land. When his partner is killed, Diego decides to assume the "El Chicano" identity himself to fight back against the cartel and seek vengeance against Shotgun for his collaboration with the cartel.

Cast

Production

The script began as Bray's memoir about the death of his brother, who had been involved with gangs, but Bray turned the memoir into a story about a fictional vigilante named "El Chicano". Carnahan and Bray then completed the script in a four-week collaborative writing session at Carnahan's home near Palm Springs. They pitched the script for El Chicano in 2017, but interested studios expressed concerns about the all-Latino cast, and ultimately passed on the film.[6] The pair found new investors from the oil and gas industry who partnered with Carnahan and Frank Grillo's production company WarParty Films to produce El Chicano.[1] The film was mostly shot in Calgary.[3] Following the film's premiere at the LA Film Festival, Briarcliff Entertainment acquired U.S. distribution rights.[1]

Reception

Critical response

As of August 2020, the film holds an approval rating of 38% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 24 reviews by critics with an average rating of 4.56/10. The website's critic consensus reads: "El Chicano represents a step forward for representation in superhero cinema -- unfortunately, its clichéd story is nothing more than ordinary."[7] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100, based on reviews by 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[8]

The Hollywood Reporter praised the cast, including Castillo's "charismatic performance in the lead role" and the "vivid impressions" left by Marlene Forte and Aimee Garcia.[3] The Los Angeles Times positively noted the more inclusive take on "Hollywood cop movies from the ’80s, when masculinity came only in a macho shade", but also criticized the film's portrayal of Mexican nationals as "demonized, criminal, carnage-friendly, nationalist invaders".[9] Writing for TheWrap, critic Monica Castillo similarly drew attention to the "fear-mongering cartel tropes" that failed to "undo the damage of hateful rhetoric aimed at Latinx and Latin American people".[10] In discussing the film's violence, the San Francisco Chronicle observed that "these blurry, hurried scenes are among the most frustrating elements in a largely disappointing movie",[4] while The New York Times noted that its "political and thematic purpose" was unclear.[11]

Accolades
  • Best Feature Film, Maryland International Film Festival[5]

References
  1. Fleming Jr., Mike (October 11, 2018). "Briarcliff Lands U.S. Rights To 'El Chicano', First Latino Superhero Pic With All-Hispanic Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  2. "El Chicano (2019)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  3. Scheck, Frank (May 1, 2019). "'El Chicano': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  4. Meyer, Carla (May 1, 2019). "Review: 'El Chicano' a frustrating framing of Latino vigilante". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  5. Morgan, Claire (May 1, 2019). "Sacramento's Joe Carnahan helps deliver first Latino superhero movie, 'El Chicano'". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  6. Buckley, Cara (May 1, 2019). "An All-Latino Cast? Hollywood Passed, but 'El Chicano' Is Coming". The New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  7. "El Chicano (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  8. "El Chicano (2019) reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  9. Aguilar, Carlos (May 2, 2019). "Review: Superhero flick 'El Chicano,' starring Raúl Castillo, has a disturbing undercurrent". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  10. Castillo, Monica (May 3, 2019). "'El Chicano' Film Review: Well-Intentioned Latinx Superhero Movie Gets More Wrong Than Right". TheWrap. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  11. Bugbee, Teo (May 1, 2019). "'El Chicano' Review: Freeing East Los Angeles With Bloodshed". The New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
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