Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
Michael ‘Jay’ Cochran has just left the Navy after 12 years and he's not quite sure what he's going to do, except that he knows he wants a holiday. He decides to visit Tiburon Mendez, a powerful but shady Mexican businessman who he once flew to Alaska for a hunting trip. Arriving at the Mendez mansion in Mexico, he is immediately surprised by the beauty and youth of Mendez’s wife, Miryea.
Tony Scott's 1990 revenge thriller is visually striking with lush Mexican landscapes and Scott's characteristically stylish cinematography elevating the material considerably. Kevin Costner, Anthony Quinn, and Madeleine Stowe deliver solid if not transcendent performances, with Quinn's menacing patriarch being a particular standout. The plot, while passionately told, follows a fairly predictable betrayal-and-revenge arc that offers little structural surprise. The film sits in well-trodden genre territory narratively, though Scott's direction gives it a distinct visual texture. The ending is bleak and bittersweet, fitting the tone but not especially memorable or subversive.