Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with a pair of reviews of NAAAACCCHHOOOO LIBRE, a flick I have yet to see. I know a lot of the Austin people got to go to that awesome-sounding wrestling event Harry threw and the word I've heard from them is that the movie is more family comedy than Jack Black craziness. But not in a bad way. That might steam up some Tenacious fans wanting spinal piercing and Satan worshipping jokes, but if it's a good flick I can hold out for THE PICK OF DESTINY for my Tenacious D fix. Enjoy the reviews!!!
Harry,
Just saw "Nacho Libre" last night and as much as I anticipated that this was going to be a great film, sadly it misses its mark.
Jack Black as the orphan child(A great opening sequence with a creepy-looking nun.) turned priest, entertains us in a very weak script.
There were moments that the writer/director Jared Hess could have taken liberties with by mocking the "Rocky" franchise(One moment he does comes too late as its at the end of the movie.) throughout the film or taken from some of the wrestling luchadore movies("Blue Demon," "Mil Mascaras," Abel Salazar's "Brainiac" mask etc.). like when Nacho and his wrestling partner, Esqueleto battle "Satan" and his overweight daughter in the ring.
Fans of lucha libre will enjoy what few wrestling moments there are. Black does deliver the goods though in the ring, especially during the seven strongest men fight and the finale where he sings in the ring just before he fights arch foe, "Ramses."
There are a few moments are distracting. There are things that Black's character says that break the fourth wall with the audience and it throws you off wondering why he said that instead of paying attention to the next scene. I know its just Black going wild with his acting persona but, it doesn't work here.
Mexican actress, Ana de la Reguera, as "Sister Encarnacion" is appealing as Black's love interest and has a couple of funny moments with Black especially the toast scene.
If you're a fan of Jack Black's or wrestling, you'll be mildly entertained. Sadly, the overall movie feels like a cookie-cutter film that we've all seen before with its predictability.
Uncapie
And then we have JinXy Chaos who liked the film a bit more... He's got one paragraph of a traditional review... then he goes on to... a bit of an experiment. I guess he's going all gonzo on us. Enjoy the weirdness!
Hey Gang,
JinXy Chaos back again with something I hope you can use even if it's a bit odd.
I wrote this review (of sorts) in the first person, because after the screening Powder and I were talking about it and the first thing that came out my mouth was “Finally they made a movie about my life!” (just one of the many idiotic things that fly out of my mouth on a whim or for a laugh), I told her I’d write this review in the first person and she dared me to do it…so here it is. It’s not meant to be offensive in any way shape or form, much like the movie it’s meant to be light hearted and funny. Upfront I will tell you, that this is pretty much the movie you’d expect from Jack Black and Jared Hess. It’s funny, it’s silly, it’s got heart to it, it hits the right marks and really doesn’t have much drag to it-like most comedies (maybe 10 minutes in the middle). If you have a sense of humor, this will be a film to see this summer. If you can see it drunk (I’m not advocating that), you’ll probably puke from laughing so hard. Like School of Rock or Napoleon Dynamite? Odds are, you will like this one, too.
Disclaimer: If you don't want to know I win the lucha grande at the end of the movie, don't read this. Go read the bible- it has some good parts in it about god and stuff.
Finally!! Someone has made a movie out of my life! Filled with my churchly duties and godly stuff, wrestling and whatever.
When I heard a movie was being made about my life, I was not happy. I was worried they would cast Tom Cruise and let's face it, he just not as handsome as Nacho. Which is why I hide my face behind a mask, most people don’t know that.
My Mother, she was from the Netherlands and my Father was from Mexico. They both tried to convert each other to their faiths, but they got married instead. And then they died.
As I grew up a little Niño in the orphanage at the monastery, I found my love of wrestling and my destiny was put before me. But my brothers frowned upon my love of combat in the square circle and forbid me to follow my dreams and stuff. I’ve worked in the kitchen since, making soup and other meals for my brothers and the other orphans. But we are a poor and humble monastery and we have no monies for fresh ingredients.
One night, as I was collecting the chips for my kitchen, I was attacked by a sneaky, unsavory, godless, science-loving criminal type. He stole god's chips from me and as I thought my my shame could go no deeper, I saw a man on the street and he was loved by many and given flowers and gifts by the masses. I could not turn from this false idol- this luchador. He was the mighty among them and I was filled with desire again to test my destiny and maybe win the heart of Sister Encarnación.
I could no longer look into the faces of the other orphans and feed them such terrible meals, I knew my destiny was tied to theirs and I would become a warrior of God in the ring. I went in search of the only man whose skills could enhance my own: the science-worshiping criminal.
Once I had made him my tag team partner, we trained very hard for the entire day before going into the ring for our first fight. With my mask and stretchy pants, I fought to win over the crowd and our opponents, but we found no victory in the ring. The crowd loved us though and the promoters gave us monies. The next day the orphans had the best meal of their lives and I knew I had to continue my destiny to become the best luchador ever.
My tag team partner Esqueleto and I lost battle after battle but the monies continued to flow. I did not want to be paid to lose my matches-I wanted to win! I began my quest to become the greatest fighter in history. I knew I needed something to boost my powers to make my moves the best. I sought out a man called Emperor who knew where I could find Eagle eggs and I could tap into the secret Eagle Powers. I climbed the sea cliffs and found the eggs and I devoured them, but they did not change me, for I was still not the best warrior in the ring.
Disappointment filled my heart. I could not win in the ring, I could not raise the spirits of the little Niños and I could not win the heart of Sister Encarnación. To make it worse, my idol Ramses turned out to be a real douche. It really sucked to be me.
I was invited into a Seven man match to win the spot as the number one contender for the title. I prayed to God to make me an instrument of his holy power in the ring, so that I could buy a bus and take the orphans on field trips to see things and stuff. Before I could test my holy new gifts, my robes caught fire and exposed my stretchy pants in front of the brothers and Sister Encarnación. The match did not go well and again I was defeated. I returned to the monastery in shame once again, only to find I was being banished from the church. I had no place in the world, I was not a man of God and I was not a great luchador. I was to go into the wilderness. As I made my life in the wild, my tag team partner Esqueleto would soon come find me and tell me I had a title shot against the great Ramses himself!
I returned to the ring once more to face my destiny. It was in this pivotal moment in my life, that I was to become a warrior of God and find my secret Eagle Powers!! I defeated Ramses and won the day. What?! Did you think I was going to lose? It’s my movie. Does Rocky lose at the end of his movies? Don’t be a douche. (Except in the first one, of course, but that was the gritty, urban drama of the underdog-much like my story, not an ego tripping sequel for Stallone-oh, but where did I leave off in my story?)
Now, I am now back with the brothers and the orphans and we got our little bus for field trips and stuff. I hope they can make a sequel so I can tell the story of how Nacho Libre battled the space mutants, but that’s another story.
The movie turned out to be very good indeed and Nacho recommends it to everyone in need of a good laugh and God.
