No Rest for the Wicked (2011)

What could I add more than the other users have already done? They told everything about this authentic gem from Spain, dark, bleak, violent, speaking of a brutal, borderline cop for whom the audience may although feel empathy, no matter the evil side of this character. The first sequences of the killing in the bar are astounding. I won't repeat the scheme, but this could have pleased to Olivier Marchal, William Friedkin or David Ayer. The brutal cop character reminds me the film SHIELD FOR MURDER, starring Edmond O'Brien, made by Howard Koch in the fifties. In the future, I will watch out for further films from this director

I was just partially prepared for this gritty thriller, so I am warning you in time to get ready for it to maximize your enjoyment. This is another gut-buster coming to us from sunny Spain, in case you missed it the first one is Mientras Duermes, and this just goes to show you that no matter what Hollywood decides to do to cinema, there will be always other countries to step up. This vibrant noir movie is just too cool, and the reason for that is Santos Trinidad masterfully played by José Coronado. While the American take on your average alcoholic, corrupt and dangerous detective set the standards, Jose took it to another level with his believable acting, right appearance and that crazy look in his eyes is the thing that completes the whole image. These are the guys that you don't wanna see or have anything to do in real life, but secretly fantasize about being them or hanging out with them.The director did not hold back, and once again we can enjoy in this glass of whiskey that is not watered down or with ice. The taste that this movie leaves is that one of bitterness of life, wrong choices and the those moments of perfect clarity where you can actually feel alive and meaningful. Just beautiful.... And gripping, from the beginning to the end, this movie will hold your attention and let it go just for brief moments that are to be used to light up another cigar or pour another shot of whiskey (well, I guess any alcohol will do). One more thing I found very interesting and that is that upon viewing this movie Sylvester Stallone immediately bought the rights and expressed desire to make an American version (with him in the lead role, no doubt)Using the actual events of 2004 Madrid train bombings, No Rest for the Wicked further develops this story, from the eyes of one Santos Trinidad. Santos Trinidad is a bad man, a police detective who likes to drink, gamble, misuse his authority and all the fun things that we would do, if, of course, life was a video game. He comes alive at night and as an alcoholic vampire prowls the streets and strip clubs looking for trouble, life and death. One of those visits, will prove to be a very important one as he accidentally stumbles on something much, much bigger than the usual sleaze that you would expect in a nightclub. Not to reveal too much (again, but what can I do when the movie is that good...), I will leave you with this, enjoy this phenomenal movie...Movie recommendations Rabbit-Reviews.com - Only movies worth watching

This film has won the most important awards given by the Spanish film industry, the Goyas, for best film, best director and best main actor(among others). I had great expectations when I got the DVD. However, once the opening scene is over, the film becomes a dull and confusing chase between the main character, the psychotic policeman Santos Trinidad, and his nemesis the instruction judge Chacón and the straight policeman Leiva. There are too many characters to be remembered and the inclusion of the 2004 Madrid bombings plot is too accurate to the point of resulting vaguely ridiculous. The worse part of the film for me was the absolute lack of understanding of why this man behaves as he does, other than been an alcoholic and a loner. This character has been widely praised here, but to me is a completely flat , unidimensional rendering of a supposedly complex human being. No redeeming features at all, miles away from the Javier Bardem character in No country for old men , for instance. The idea that all immigrants in Spain are basically whores, drug traffickers, radical Islamic militants or terrorists is deeply unsettling. I doubt that this film would have found financing in France, the UK or the US, as it is basically highlighting a reactionary message of incompetence of the democratic institutions ( the law and order represented by the instruction judge and the clean policeman) to act against rampant drug trafficking, Islamic terrorism, and police corruption. To avoid disaster, we are only left to luck. I have already mentioned how poor is the Jose Coronado acting, but he is excellent compared to other crew members. Juanjo Artero is a very popular TV actor in Spain, whose rendition on his character is awful even by his own standards (there is a TV series here named El Barco, the boat, where he is the main character, wonderful laughing stock). The former young heartthrob Pedro Mari Sanchez comes back as the fat, spectacled and corrupt superintendent from the anti-terrorist unit. Age has changed him , but his acting skills remain extremely limited. Same goes to the female instruction judge, a beautiful but rigid and stiffened young woman called Helena Miguel. Perhaps she might be luckier next time if she gets the chance. In summary, a overpraised police film based on a confusing plot, unbelievable characters and terrible acting. I would mention that the general atmosphere of suburban contemporary Spain is well drawn. But the deep message of this superficial film is certainly very unsavory.

This movie is so good; that I will start with the bad things. The only reason I did not give this movie a 10/10 is because somewhere in the middle, the pace slows down and drags for about 10 minutes. I assume the director was aware but wanted this in order to set up a particular mood. In my opinion he could get there another ways, achieving the same effect.The story is different from what you usually expect. A very drunken cop in what apparently is a personal crisis, kills three people in a moment of rage; but a witness gets away. As the victims are from Colombia, the case is related to drugs and an ambitious judge tries to get to the bottom of the issue which soon is also linked to terrorism. In the meantime, our drunken cop is dealing with his internal demons while looking for the witness that can recognize him and avoiding the judge (and his companions) to relate him with the crime.Jose Coronado plays Trinidad. He is almost every scene in the movie. He is so good and his presence so strong that when he is not in the scene, is like something is missing. He is not a good person but we are never clear if he really is bad. We get glimpses of his past but never a clear account of what happened. It is to the viewers to figure it out and make the proper judgments.The rest of the cast is not bad but no character has a deeper development than Trinidad so they are all just secondary characters within his tale.This is not the American thriller. There is no redemption, not even a will on doing a good deed. This is a tale of survival within a society and a justice system which is just a big mess. The action is located in Spain but could apply to USA and in many other countries.