Leofwine_draca Although you'd be forgiven for mistaking THE LINE for an action flick, it turns out to be anything but: this is in actual fact a character study of various interacting and rival personalities in a violent Mexican city. Ray Liotta bags the central and most interesting role as a hit-man traumatised by an event in his past and given the opportunity to make amends in the present.Against him is gang leader Pelon, played to the hilt by the chilling Esai Morales. This is a guy who thinks nothing of torturing rivals to death and who fully deserves his comeuppance – should it ever come about. The supporting cast is made up of an excellent ensemble of actors, including those better known for B-movies (Danny Trejo and Gary Daniels both have brief henchman roles) as well as more familiar faces. Andy Garcia, who's been off our screens for quite some time, is particularly interesting as the former gangster wasting away from a terminal illness. Also look out for Bruce Davison, an unrecognisable Armand Assante and the ever-underrated Joe Morton.This may not be an action movie, but there is at least one splendid shoot-out to enjoy. In any case, the entire film is well shot and the script holds your attention in the snappy, heartfelt dialogue scenes as well as the thriller elements. Comparing it to other recent gangster movies, it comes in under CITY OF GOD but above GOMORRAH.

rlange-3 This movie had a great deal to be excited about, including the setting in TJ, some fine actors who actually turned in excellent performances, a few memorable vignettes that built expectations, and a plot flip late in the movie that was well executed.Unfortunately these component parts were hashed together into an agonizingly slow moving hodgepodge world where nothing made much sense. It was difficult to build tension, or even interest as a multiplicity of characters were tossed into the mix without clear purpose or clear connection to the main storyline, and the storyline itself included major elements that made no sense at all. I don't claim to be the most observant person in the world but I spent most of the movie wondering what the heck was happening. What was the relationship between Liotta and Cruz? Why did she take care of him? Why bring a hired gun into your home with your little girl and get involved in some kind of fight between cartels? Cruz was cast as a big hearted street-wise prostitute, so why would she act so stupidly? And there was no chemistry at all there, so what's the point? Then we have supposedly highly skilled assassins trying to 'get' one kingpin and they take on about 20 guns in a parking lot -- two of them. Really slick. And Liotta, the professional's professional suddenly goes rogue and single handedly takes on a building full of thugs like something out of a Rambo movie. Give me a break. Don't lure us into believing this is some kind of a thinker's gang movie, then toss in some silly one man against the mob action scene.It's worth watching for the scenery, the vignettes that work, and some of the acting. But don't get your expectations up too high. There isn't enough action to make this really exciting, and the plodding sentimentality of much of the plot is sundered by the absurdity of some of its elements.

pcox-mail If there's anything I love more than a truly well-crafted movie, it is finding one by accident. This is a remarkable piece of art on every level, from casting and script to score, acting and cinematography.This flick left Traffic in the dust and truly gave Liotta the kind of vehicle he deserves. There are half a dozen other great performances as well. Reading anything other than a great review simply amplifies the mystery of diverse taste. I so don't understand how anybody could not enjoy La linea. I'm buying this movie in multiple copies and giving them as gifts.Moreover, the script even contains elements of Mexican surrealism, but without taking the plot into fantasy. I'm going to have to look into the screenwriter and the director because they got this one right. Well done. Marvillosa.

ledandreas Normally I wouldn't’t write anything about this movie. The time I’ve already spent on watching it was way too much. But come on…9.3 rating??? It’s kind of intriguing… A some-kind-of-USA-secret-agency just spotted some Afghans that they try to deal with the last big drug cartel in Mexico, Tijuana. Are they going to let the deal take place between the Mexicans with the “Afghan-terrorists”? Of course not. For that they recruited a retired undercover agent to stop them, who in turn recruited two supposedly unstoppable and unmistakable head-hunters to kill the head of the Mexican cartel, who took leadership not actually being part of the Family and is in rivalry with the stepson of the Godfather for taking the leadership of the cartel, who Godfather is in his last days dying and a very good friend with the local priest, who take cares of the soul of the not-from-the-Family leader of the cartel. Where was I? Oh, the two head-hunters are messing up the job because a sniper shoots them, who sniper also tries to kill the not-from-the-family-leader of the cartel but a vision of a woman that he killed in a previous job haunts him just at the moment he was supposed to pull the trigger, which woman was killed by him and filled the sniper with guilt because no one cared about her death. Does anything of the above make any sense? If not add one whore that takes care of the sniper, one good friend of the sniper who gets killed by the cartel, also add that the stepson of the godfather is actually crying with every line he says, add that the Mexicans speak Spanish like a Chinese should speak in Greek, also add that the priest turns out to be the personal Godfather’s killer boy, who Godfather is not actually sick at all but pretends to be, add that both the not-family-leader and the stepson get killed, also the sniper gets killed and that the Godfather is cooperating with the some-kind-of-USA-secret-agency mentioned at the beginning. Confusing? Yes. Unanswered questions? Yes. Idiotic plot? Also. Action movie with no action? You guessed right. Good actors acting worse than me? Sad but true. The bottom line is that I will give 1.000$ if anyone watches the film and makes more sense than these that I have already written.