The defence The Popcorn Loyalist
“It owes the canon nothing.”
The movie pursues immediacy and audience pleasure without begging institutions to certify its worth.
Back to trending 
The Mexican
Action · Comedy · Crime · 2001
Jerry Welbach, a reluctant bagman, has been given two ultimatums: The first is from his mob boss to travel to Mexico and retrieve a priceless antique pistol, known as "the Mexican"... or suffer the consequences. The second is from his girlfriend Samantha to end his association with the mob. Jerry figures alive and in trouble with Samantha is better than the more permanent alternative, so he heads south of the border.
Movie details
The Mexican
“Love with the safety off.”
2001 Action · Comedy · Crime 2h 3m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.0 / 10
Community rating
Jerry Welbach, a reluctant bagman, has been given two ultimatums: The first is from his mob boss to travel to Mexico and retrieve a priceless antique pistol, known as "the Mexican"... or suffer the consequences. The second is from his girlfriend Samantha to end his association with the mob. Jerry figures alive and in trouble with Samantha is better than the more permanent alternative, so he heads south of the border.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Mexican?
For the defence
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Auteur Devotee
“You watch the director, not the movie.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Father Hood
Action · 1993
Deadbeat dad kidnaps his kids from the bus to an abusive foster home and they go on a run. The cops are after them, they bicker constantly and his idea of a way out is grim, yet this dangerous ride might just turn them into a family.
Gringo
Comedy · 2018
An American businessman with a stake in a pharmaceutical company that's about to go public finds his life is thrown into turmoil by an incident in Mexico.
Brothers
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A reformed criminal's attempt at going straight is derailed when he reunites with his sanity-testing twin brother on a road trip for the score of a lifetime. Dodging bullets, the law, and an overbearing mother along the way, they must heal their severed family bond before they end up killing each other.
2 Guns
Action · 2013
A DEA agent and an undercover Naval Intelligence officer who have been tasked with investigating one another find they have been set up by the mob -- the very organization the two men believe they have been stealing money from.
The Pickup
Action · 2025
A routine cash pickup takes a wild turn when mismatched armored truck drivers Russell and Travis are ambushed by ruthless criminals led by savvy mastermind Zoe.
Smokin' Aces
Action · 2006
When a Las Vegas performer-turned-snitch named Buddy Israel decides to turn state's evidence and testify against the mob, it seems that a whole lot of people would like to make sure he's no longer breathing.
Married to the Mob
Comedy · 1988
Angela de Marco is fed up with her gangster husband's line of work and wants no part of the crime world. When her husband is killed for having an affair with the mistress of mob boss Tony "The Tiger" Russo, Angela and her son depart for New York City to make a fresh start. Unfortunately, Tony has set his sights upon Angela -- and so has an undercover FBI agent looking to use her to bust Tony.
Tango & Cash
Action · 1989
Ray Tango and Gabriel Cash are two successful narcotics detectives who can't stand each other. Crime lord Yves Perret, furious at the loss of income they have caused him, plots an elaborate revenge against them.
Shaft
Action · 2019
JJ, aka John Shaft Jr., may be a cyber security expert with a degree from MIT, but to uncover the truth behind his best friend’s untimely death, he needs an education only his dad can provide. Absent throughout JJ’s youth, the legendary locked-and-loaded John Shaft agrees to help his progeny navigate Harlem’s heroin-infested underbelly.
Foxy Brown
Action · 1974
A voluptuous black woman takes a job as a high-class prostitute in order to get revenge on the mobsters who murdered her boyfriend.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Gore Verbinski
Written by
J. H. Wyman
Brad Pitt
Jerry Welbach
Julia Roberts
Samantha Barzel
James Gandolfini
Winston Baldry
J.K. Simmons
Ted Slocum
David Krumholtz
Beck
Bob Balaban
Bernie Nayman
Gene Hackman
Arnold Margolese
Court is in session
Put The Mexican on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Auteur Devotee
“Easy pleasure, short half-life.”
It moves efficiently through the moment but offers little reason to keep arguing once the credits end.