New to Netflix from today is the Spanish comedy, The (Almost) Legends (aka Los (casi) ídolos de Bahía Colorada). The film – directed by Ricardo Castro Velazquez – stars Benny Emmanuel and Harold Azuara, and follows the story of two half-brothers who enter a car rally to honour their deceased father.
In the movie, Romeo and Preciado are two estranged half-brothers who have spent the past five years living apart, following the death of their father. Romeo moved away to Mexico City, to persue a career in telenovelas, while Preciado remained in the small town of Bahía Colorada, in Sinaloa, to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a singer.
But when Romeo returns to Bahía Colorada to take part in a prestigious rally, the two brothers are forced to spend time together. This in turn leads to them both taking part in the race, where they must learn to put aside their differences in order to honour the memory of their father.
*Lets out a sigh*
Every once in a while a movie comes along which can only be described as ‘a sheer slog’. And ladies, gentlemen, and everyone in between, The (Almost) Legends is one of these movies.
Boring? Incredibly so.
Nothing about this film is particularly interesting, the story is pretty basic, almost all attempts at comedy fall flat, and worst of all, it is a complete snooze-fest. Getting through this film took patience, perseverance, and prescription medication, and this is certainly not how I wish to spend a wet Wednesday in July.
To begin with, I thought maybe something was getting lost in translation, and perhaps I was missing the unique subtleties of the picture; but no, it is just very boring. With a predictable storyline and a collection of characters who fail to ignite the screen, The (Almost) Legends is at best a misfire, and at worst just plain irritating.
From a visual standpoint, the film’s colour palette and overall design aesthetic is at least decent, and from a technical point of view The (Almost) Legends is competently put together, which demonstrates potential from director Ricardo Castro Velazquez; but it’s more style over substance. I can sort of see what the film is attempting, and it does have some quirky flourishes, but it just doesn’t work.
The longer the movie drags on, the less appealing it becomes, and at two-hours long, there simply isn’t enough here to keep things going. That said, I’m not sure that cutting down the runtime would make much of a difference either.
Unless you are the director, a member of the production crew, or you’ve fallen in front of your TV while this movie is playing and you simply can’t get up, there really is no reason to watch The (Almost) Legends. Try it out if you wish, but I’m not sure how long you will last.
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