I don't believe that I need to recap the plot of this movie since other commentators have done so quite clearly. However I would like to expand on three aspects of the film: the casting, comparable movies, and the technical credits.

I'm an Anglo and came across the movie by accident on Amazon.com. As such I was totally unfamiliar with the cast of this movie, most of whom appear to have extensive credits in Hispanic television series. When an actor delivers a good performance you can credit the actor. When all the actors fit their roles you have to credit the casting. Saul Lisazo, as the putative villain Moctesuma Valdez, was impressive. Both of the gang leaders, Miquel Varoni as Emilio Lopez and Fernando Colunga as Alejandro Toledo, were in character. While the latter was billed first, I assume he's better known for his television work, I would say the former was more of a standout in this film. Ruben Garfias was expressive as car jockey Rafa and Ivonne Montero was very dynamic as his motor-head daughter Rafaela. Gabriel Soto brought some charm to the usually thankless role of caper muscle man. Julie Gonzalo was attractive in the role of the nanny Gloria but Sonya Smith had little to do as Mrs. Valdez (apparently she was more actively involved in a sub-plot which was cut from the movies to reduce run time). Oscar Torres as Miguelito, a would be actor, and Jon Molerio as a security guard provide standout comedy relief. Only the computer "nerd" role of Julio Miranda was surprisingly under written given that it was played by JoJo Henrickson, the author of the screen play. It is relatively seldom that all major roles in a film are well cast. It is a high compliment when I say it makes me want to go out and look at the other work of these performers.

Commentators have compared this film to Ocean's Eleven (1960/2001) or the The Sting (1973) in terms of where it was derived from and the style of the caper. I don't know who made the first caper film, with people coming together to stage a heist, but I know it definitively precedes Ocean's Eleven (1960). Without even pausing I can think of Jules Dassin's Rafifi (1955),Stanley Kubrick's The Killing (1956) or John Huston's The Asphalt Jungle (1950). In terms of style I think we must remember that this film was apparently made on a budget of US$900,000 over twenty days. Its simply not going to have the high-technology caper of a big budget Ocean's Eleven (2001). The complexity of the caper is more like that of 1960's television series Mission Impossible or Man From U.N.C.L.E. However the director and writer of this film wisely choose to concentrate on character and social commentary rather than complexity of the caper. This fits better within both the budget and the concept of invisible immigrants staging a caper. Part of the emotional satisfaction with the ending is the social commentary embedded within it.

Technical credits are normally taken for granted but deserve comment in this case. The camera work is particularly impressive, with use of continuous takes as the camera moves amongst the participants in the scene. This style binds the characters together and creates both realism and a sense of activity. I was also impressed with some of the framing of the shots, with the main characters bookending the background events. I don't think I've ever commented on subtitles in a movie. Inevitably one senses that the subtitles you are reading are a poor reflection of what's said in the original language. In this case the English subtitles, I presume by the screen writer JoJo Henrickson, are fluid and fully convey the emotions on the screen. The catchy soundtrack also adds to the professionalism of the credits.

That translation sounds very familiar, Yes, dear readers, we have seen this type film many times over the years.The Oceans 11-13 series, comes to mind first.

The film was made by a Mexican-American film company & has a large cast of actors famous on Mexican Television. The cast & crew live in Los Angeles & have their roots either here or in other Latin-American countries. The setting is Los Angeles, most of which was filmed in a beautiful house & grounds in one of the more upscale areas.

The entire cast is excellent,all aspects of the movie are first rate.

The general idea of this tale is we have a villain, a snake-oil salesmen who sells phony health remedies to gullible TV listeners. Enter 2 righteous dudes who form a gang to take this sleaze-ball down

It is a fun ride all the way, with a few surprises.

I was laughing out loud all the way through, I think you all will as well. This movie has none of the phoniness of the Oceans 11-13 series,

Minimum of violence,next to no sexual stuff & no songs to disrupt the comedy.its pure fun. It is in Spanish with excellent closed captioning.

next to no objectionable language as well.

Ratings ***1/2 (out of 4) 94 points (out of 100) IMDb 9 (out of 10)

From PASTO, COLOMBIA-Via: L. A. CA; CALI, COLOMBIA+ORLANDO, FL

LADRON was released in August 2007, just before the U. S. economy hit a gigantic speed bump in 2008 If you're over 18, I'm sure you remember what the next couple years were like, right? Well, I remember watching promos for the film some years back and how people involved with the film said, "It was produced in MiamiThe Capital of Latin America!" Strange...Since the big recession, really haven't heard that phrase tossed about anymore! To counter that, however, as an L. A. ex-pat, it sure looks as though a lot of the filming was done in the Hollywood Hills! But IMDb said there was no INFO on filming locations, so we can't really be sure!

If you look at the actors and the people involved in making LADRON, it is a sort of an International Hispanic "Who's Who!" In the Director's chair, we have Joe Menendez, born in NYC, Cuban-American; His life-partner, Roni Eguia Menendez is credited as #1 Producer, there is no background on his specific ethnicity, but the surname Eguia seems to be of Basque (READ: Spain) origin; The principal leads are: Fernando Colunga, born in Mexico City; Miguel Varoni, although born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he was raised in Colombia and most people consider him as such; Saul Lisazo is from Argentina, but has lived in Spain and now in Mexico City; Gabriel Soto, from Mexico City; Julie Gonzalo was born in Buenos Aires, but has lived in Miami since she was 8; Sonya Smith, of Telenovela Fame, born in Philly, she is Venezuelan-American.

Most of the rest of the cast seem to be of Hispanic origin, but born in the USA! LADRON is done in a style that is quite tongue in cheek. I'd say almost a little too much so at times, making for a rather Cavalier experience for cast and crew, who seem to be having a lot of fun making the film! Does this insider merriment translate into viewer enjoyment? In general, yes, but not always. In any case, I think the vast majority of people will find it breezy, fun and enjoyable! Just under $7 Million Gross, for most movies released in the U. S., would be considered dismal! Yet, amazingly, LADRON is the highest grossing film produced and released in Spanish EVER in the U. S.! Well, at least until 2008I can't be sure about after that.

Yes, the film is in SpanishWell, at least about 98% of the dialog is in Spanish. Would a non-Spanish speaker enjoy the movie as much? The answer to that has to be "NO", of course, but that doesn't mean that it isn't worth seeing just because you don't speak Spanish. In fact, if you are interested in the dynamics of cultural differences, you might find the interaction of Hispanics from many different countries within the U. S. to be rather interesting and amusing.

How well done are the subtitles in English? Since I never pay much attention to them, I'm not really sureBut I did notice there did not SEEM to be much in the way of gaps where there were no on screen subtitles! Sorry, but that's about the only help I can provide in that area!

7*.....ENJOY!/DISFRUTELA!

Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome!.....