How I Spent my Summer Vacation

A thief who crashes to safety over the Mexican border ends up in a local prison which is unlike any he has ever seen...

A career criminal who steals 4 million Dollars from a crime boss crashes to freedom over the Mexican border, only to be picked up by the local police; have all of his ill gotten gains taken; and thrown into the most unorthodox prison he has ever seen.

There he meets a chain smoking, fatherless ten year old whose only purpose in life is provide a new liver for the evil prison owner. The two strike up the most unlikely of friendships, keeping an eye out for each other as the crook, "Driver" pitting various groups of criminals against each other in an attempt to get back the money he stole.

His paternal feelings for the the boy, and the undeniable attraction to the boys mother, are more than enough of a distraction to him, never mind the various groups of unscrupulous drug dealers, crooked cops and the owner of the prison, trying their utmost to end his life.

Also released under the title of "Get the Gringo" this is Mel Gibson's first outing since the horrendously bad "The Beaver" of 2011 as he tries to put his worst days behind him and return to what he does best. In this he succeeds, delivering a very decent performance, showing that whatever his problems away from the big screen, he is still a fairly decent actor and able to hold up a feature film with some aplomb. As well as being the narrator and writer for the film, he delivers a fine showing, reminiscent of some of his best work in films like "Payback". Hopefully this is the first step on his long road from career suicide and he can scale the heights which took him to "Lethal Weapon" and "Braveheart".

Little known Kevin Hernandez takes the role of "The Kid" in only his second major outing, following on from 2011's "The Sitter" and delivers a lovely, moving performance, well as much as a foul mouthed, chain-smoking 10 year old prison dweller can. He is convincing, and his character is likeable and will have the audience rooting for him throughout. Keep an eye out for this talented youngster as I think he will grow into bigger and better things.

Mexican born Dolores Heredia gives a sterling performance as the down-trodden yet defiant "Kids Mom" who is the closest thing you can get to a love interest for the main character. In her most major project to date she is pleasant to watch, combining well the hardness of her character while also showing great concern for her only son, who has a death sentence hanging over his head. I look forward to seeing more of this 20 year career actor, as she moves into English speaking films.

American actor Peter Gerety is good as the slimy foreign "Embassy Guy", trying his best to get his hands on the money, deservedly stolen by the lead character, while Daniel Giminez Cacho gives a fantastic showing as head honcho "Javi". The film is well paced with scenes of extreme violence, but also a good few touching moments. Its enjoyable and a good watch, and hopefully the sign of more to come from Mel Gibson.

7/10