Get the Gringo (2012)

[Guest The Second Spitter]

This is a sequel to Payback also starring Mel Gibson, although it hasn't been advertised as such.

Gibson plays an unnamed "Driver" of a bank robbery in Texas. Rather than being captured by US Marshals he drives into Mexico, gets arrested there and gets thrown-in a the real-life Tijuana gaol (that's "jail" in American) known as 'El Pueblito', where families of those incarcerated are allowed to join them. There he meets a woman and her orphaned son and unleashes his usual havoc. Hijinks ensue.

It's an ol' school action flick, with fantastic shoot-em up sequences. It's in your face action and never stops to regain its breath. The payoff is excellently executed.

If JCL or TransMonk hate this movie I'll refund their cost of viewing.

Poll is coming.

[TransMonk]

I'm game. I enjoyed Payback as an action flick. Would it be worth watching it again before taking in Gringo?

[Guest The Second Spitter]

There's no continuity in the story between the two (other than it's the same character). So I would say, optional.

[Vic Sage]

PAYBACK was based on Donald Westlake's novel "The Hunter", featuring his "Parker" character whom he used in a series of books in the 60s-70s (which he wrote as "Richard Stark"). A few of the Parker books have been turned into films, but none of them called him "Parker". I wonder why?

POINT BLANK (based on "The Hunter")(1967) with Lee Marvin as "Walker" - the best of the bunch, directed by John Boorman
PILLAGED (based on "The Score") (1967) with Michel Constantin as "Georges" - an obscure French adaptation
THE SPLIT (based on "The Seventh") (1968) with Jim Brown as "McClain" - Jim Brown was a great football player, but as an actor...
THE OUTFIT (based on "The Outfit") (1973) with Robert Duvall as "Macklin" -solid little revenge thriller, with Duvall
PAYBACK (also based on "The Hunter") (1999), with Mel Gibson as "Porter" - surprisingly OK

Apparently, however, there is a PARKER movie coming out Jan/13, with Jason Statham as Parker himself...Finally. Co-starring J-Lo (oy!), and directed by Taylor HACKford (2x oy!).

[Edgy MD]

I wonder why?

I imagine that what usually happens is that the Hollywood guy who buys the first book in a serial (chronologically first, or first to be purchased) owns the screen rights to the characters, whether or not he purchases the subsequent books, or even necessarily produces that book at all, as long as the rights are retained. So people who purchase subsequent stories don't get the names along with them.

This happened with Roddy Doyle's Barrytown Trilogy. Three books about the same family ended up getting adapted into three semi-related films about different but similar families with different names, but the same actor playing the same father in a slightly different house in the same neighborhood. The original studio wouldn't give up the rights to the names because they had a vague notion of doing their own non-Doyle-related sequel to The Commitments in which the band reunites to tour America.

[Vic Sage]

but POINT BLANK, the first adaptation, didn't use "Parker" either.

[Edgy MD]

It's just a thought. As I tried to suggest, there may have been a previous rightsholder who never produced anything. Or the Point Blank producers retained rights to the characters' names even if they didn't use them.

You're the entertainment lawyer. Get to the bottom of it.