Reel Rumbles #21 – “Bandidas” vs. “Turistas”

Chad Hoolihan

Having no affiliation with any spiritual or philosophical movements, Chad instead attempts to find meaning through watching movies.  He also enjoys  watching birds fight over food in supermarket parking lots.

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8 Responses

  1. johnmason says:

    I saw and actually like Bandidas. Never saw Turistas, but then, I’m not into blood-and-guts horror as a general rule…

  2. johnmason says:

    However, I didn’t know Olivia Wilde was in it. That could almost be enough to get a guy to change his mind…

    Or maybe I’ll just wait to see her in a day-glo catsuit in Tron Legacy…

  3. KingofPain says:

    The gore in Turistas isn’t that severe. Wilde, George & Garrett walk around in bikinis for roughly 3/5 of the movie, while the gore parts might take up 1/5. Check it out.

  4. Travis McClain says:

    Turistas doesn’t really have much of a story.”
    “Anyway, I figure Bandidas has a more character-driven script, while Turistas is more plot-driven.”

    Just bustin’ yer chops, but that had me scratchin’ my head. Neither of these was high art, of course, but I felt that Turistas had the better premise. Unfortunately, it was largely squandered on a ho-hum production. I never really felt like I was seeing something new or different.

    The whole reason that Bandidas was even made was that Hayek and Cruz wanted to work together. I’ve heard the movie described as a “comic book Western,” and I think that’s fairly accurate. The charisma between the two actresses is the real reason to watch, and it’s strong enough to carry the day. You can harp on how thin the whole movie really is, but I defy you to watch and not be taken in by the leading pair.

    Bandidas all the way for me!

    (Oh, and I rather enjoyed Dwight Yoakam…but then, I’ve been a fan of his since I first heard his cover of “Honky Tonk Man” in 1986 so I’m biased.)

  5. KingofPain says:

    I actually praised Bandidas for Cruz and Hayek’s interactions, and gave the movie a unanimous decision. I didn’t harp on it it at all myself, unless you’re speaking generally. Bandidas is a character-driven script compared to Turistas. Why would you scratch your head?

  6. Travis McClain says:

    Oh, the head scratching came from the two remarks I quoted; one suggesting that Turistas is thin on story, the other that it’s a “plot-driven” script. The rest of my remarks were just my own superfluous gushing over Bandidas that weren’t meant to read as any kind of rebuttal.

  7. KingofPain says:

    Wait, I’m defining “plot-driven” as a movie where the characters are secondary to moving the events along. Bandidas is primarly about the characters, at least compared to Turistas. Do you disagree with that? I did mention that I thought the villain in Turustas was more complex than Yoakam, but the script didn’t really explore his character enough. So maybe the whole organ theft angle was an interesting idea, but the story in Turistas was pretty basic as horror flicks go.

  1. January 10, 2011

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