The Mexican

Gore Verbinski, the director of Mouse Hunt, leads you on another wild goose chase, but instead of a furry rodent and an obsessed exterminator you are stuck with a cheap-looking gun and boring group therapy sessions. Brad Pitt stars as a bumbling bagman who travels through Mexico in his blue El Camino contending with conspiring henchmen, loyal townspeople and a mangy mutt in order to retrieve a legendary pistol, thus achieving redemption from the Mafia. Meanwhile, girlfriend Samantha (Julia Roberts), a selfish self-help groupie with Vegas dreams, is kidnapped by a closeted criminal (James Gandolfini) who also wants his hands on the sacred firearm, but swaps more relationship tips with his hostage than useful facts for his unlawful pursuit. This never-ending story slowly meanders from dull plot twist to tiresome therapy session in an asinine premise that incorporates half-witted themes of cars, toilets and traffic lights. The only smart thing done for this film was hiring an A-list cast, including Gene Hackman in a cameo role, but acting in this pitiful project was not a smart thing to do on their part.