The movie is better that you might expect. It has the usual clichés coming with the territory, but it has a more or less charismatic lead. He is trying very hard and leaves an impression. But while the actor change does occur (two time-lines),there also seems a break in the movie. Visually it stays the same and as raw as it began.

The friendship that gets depicted is a difficult one and the movie tries hard to be more like "Blood In Blood Out" or movies of similar sort. It's always good to set the bar high, but it never achieves that goal. So while it is more than predictable you might be entertained in the end, no matter how you feel about certain things (happening)