Maten a Leo Mendez

A movie full of fantastic acting performances
We enjoyed the movie's drama, suspense and comedy although we found the script a bit complicated. The highlight of the movie was undoubtedly the acting, from the performances of Carmen Salinas, Espinosa, to Ernesto Barquet, all of whom lived up to their reputations. But perhaps the best surprise of the production was the performance of the talented actor Horacio Castelo, who demonstrated an incredible ability to assume the personality of his character and display emotion, anger, and adventure with a most natural demeanor. With his performance Mr Castelo should look forward to a long and rewarding career as one of Mexico's most exciting new actors. Finally I found the cinematography very compelling and the camera work was original. A very good movie indeed, recommended for those interested of Mexico's complex cultural and social-economic realities.

Maten a Leo Mendez
In recent years, Mexican cinema has followed quite a curious trend, and one of its fashions is making movies with many plots, with all of them getting connected at the end. Many times these plots are confusing to the very end, and sometimes we are able to figure out what the hell is going on. It's quite a risky enterprise, which always reminds me of Pedro Almodovar's "Women on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown." Following this trend, Mexico succeeded, for example, with "Matando Cabos" and "Nicotina," which were also well-made. The gripping and delightful "Maten a Leo Cruz" can be added to this prestigious list.

The film stars Ernesto Barquet, who plays Leo Mendez, a wrestler who performs in clandestine matches, illegally handled by the mob. He is a decent fellow, who has aspirations of becoming a songwriter and singer, but makes a living performing at these fights, were he is very popular and unbeatable. However, because of many reasons - which comprise the twisted story, and...



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