Bound by Honor (1993)

My top five movies of all time are: Scarface, The Usual Suspects, Blood In Blood Out, The Shawshank Redemption, and Cutters. Just to give you some perspective on my taste. Anyway, that being said this movie is an all-time great. It has so many layers to it that most people wouldn't expect going in. It's way more than just a gangster movie. It has that raw, violent aspect, but also goes deep into each character's personal life and really connects you to the whole story. It's got everything you could want in a movie, drama, action, violence, deep characters and subplots, and it's so real. It would be believable if it was based on a true story. A classic for all ages. One of the best movies ever made that has never received the praise and acclaim it deserves.

Oh dear...what a mess.This film is so incompetently written that it could be used masterclass in how not to write anything at all. For a start it is repetitive beyond all belief: same riffs on blood ties, brothers, mothers, fathers and cousins etc etc etc ad nauseam throughout. Tedious to a degree that is extraordinary that it passed the producers.Secondly, the script has two pitches: loud and violent. That also makes it very boring. It is obvious how things will be shown in these two modes. A violent film can work on other levels but the writers are so inept that it escaped them to give this a few more tones.Thirdly, the story lacks precision as if it lacked a good editor. Therefore it has adopted the familiar course of amateurs, and that is to add everything in the story without giving it a balance and counter balance. There is no editorial overview of how to shape material within a reasonable time period. It is also very very long ..."Anna Karenina" is long, but that was by Tolstoy and he has some claim to be one of the greatest writers of all time.Fourthly, the actors: oh well, and the report card is depressing. Basically two modes of action. The leads are all generally terrible, especially Mr Chapa, whose performance might be compared to a guard dog with distemper. Such monotony should not be viewed in a feature film.As with anything that that exemplifies all that is detritus in film making, there are so many other things to mention but space precludes a fuller list of its faults. The music for instance, with its deliberate sentimental Spanish guitar style in the few quiet moments showed all the artistic intelligence of a fast food restaurant franchise.Almost anything on earth is better than wasting the time that is this dreadful waste of one's own too short life.

A classic story from the Barrio, and the ascension of struggles.Survival alone isn't enough. It's all about character, granted it's a long movie, but the Paco, Cruz and Miklo characters are mesmerizing to follow.Damian Chappa got robbed - whatever happened to the rest of his career? Still going (latest, Vatos Locos). Jesse Borrego, excels as a bad guy character.And the standouts throughout their careers, Benjamin Bratt, Delroy Lindo, Billy Bob Thornton, Lupe Ontiveros, Danny Trejo. All these people, all that talent, great job.That's why I remember this film, the characters.Crying in my soup now...Not really...Was going for my Oscar...Not really.

I've read several comments about this movie and I agree with most of them that give an excellent note to this film. For my part, I'd like to tell to everyone who likes movie scores that Bill Conti has made a fantastic job in this one. The music of Blood In Blood Out is amazing. It serves really well the ambiance and the spirit of the movie and I don't understand why this score has been so ignored by music amateurs. I dare to compare the chemistry which arose from this collaboration between the images of Taylor Hackford and the music of Bill Conti to the one who was born in the sixties between Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone. Great job Mr. Conti. Thank you for your talent.