In the Gibraltar Straits, three young men who are determined
to make some quick cash build a drug dealing business by shuttling their cargo
over the 10 mile gap between Morocco and Europe. Obsessive cop Jesus is on
their tail and while constantly closing in on El Nino, El Compi and Halil, he is
also out to catch some bigger fish in the sea of narcotic supply. A well
dressed man known only as the Englishman has been evading Jesus’ capture for
years, but the detective suspects there is a police informer who needs to be
rooted out before they can get their man.
Daniel Monzon’s follow up to Cell 211 is another big concept,
this time pulled off with a much bigger budget but many of the same creative
team. A hit on his home turf, El Nino should cement Monzon’s reputation as the
primary purveyor of Spanish blockbusters. The film looks a million dollars
from its incredible vistas of the bustling ports and container yards of the
straits to the thrilling boat and car chases.
Despite all the big, noisy fun of the high octane action sequences
though, El Nino is still a pretty complex tale of greed, corruption and the
dangers of having dealings with dealers. There are a few too many clichés with
one soft focus love scene being a particularly low point of the film but the
strong performances help carry it through to a thrilling action packed climax.
It's got a very attractive young cast who are all sadly overshadowed by Luis Tosar's incredible eyebrows but El Nino supplies a decent dose of action, love, drama and
suspense while meandering unnecessarily on its way to eventually ending on a high.
Here is the trailer:
