Now this is what I love to see in the year of our lord Satan 2025. Contraataque is a visually impressive, brutal, and well-made Mexican action movie. It’s about a group of Special Forces soldiers who become a target for a powerful cartel boss. Outnumbered but never outgunned, they will have to fight their way to safety. You see, the cartel ambushed them not too far from the US border hoping to kill them right then and there. However, what they didn’t know was that they were messing with members of the most elite units in the Mexican army, the infamous Murciélagos (translation: Bats). This is a real unit currently engaged in a joint effort to put a stranglehold on the drug lords.
What follows is about 80 minutes of intense shootouts and chase scenes. Practically everything you would like to see in an action movie. The production values are excellent and everything looks like it belongs in a much more expensive Hollywood movie. If there’s something I love to see, apart from no-bullshit action movies, it’s different countries producing excellent movies. It’s one thing to make consistently great serious movies, which Mexico has plenty of, and a whole different ballgame if you’re able to churn out movies like this. This is a sign that they upped their movie game and I can’t wait to see their future releases.
What’s your favorite movie or television show featuring cartels? We all know and love Narcos and Narcos: Mexico along with Breaking Bad and, more recently, Griselda starring Sofia Vergara. Well, I guess I just want to drop some good shows but what about movies you might ask. All of this sounds a bit familiar, you might say. Yes, Contraataque does have some similarities with Brazilian Tropa de Elite starring Wagner Moura (yes, that Wagner Moura). Although I think you’ll be more familiar with Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario. I’ll just mention The Raid: Redemption as it also features a group of elite soldiers who have to fight their way out of a tricky situation.
Technically, Contraataque AKA Counterattack is a B action movie, something you’ll realize early on. I mean, we have a guy with a dislocated shoulder that needs to be “popped back in” Lethal Weapon style within the first five minutes. The story is a bit shallow along with the dialogue but this is exactly the charm of these actioners. Turn off your brain for eighty minutes and just enjoy yourself. The shootouts are well-choreographed and look sufficiently realistic. No CGI bullshit or anything like that just good old practical effects and stunts. As a bonus, you can count on a juicy 50 BMG shootout.
We will also get the chance to see our soldiers perform all the classic army maneuvers. They’ve become quite popular in recent years, haven’t they? You know what I’m talking about, establishing perimeter, the taps on the shoulder during formation movement et cetera. Moreover, one of the subplots features one of the more harrowing realities when it comes to cartels. I don’t want to spoil anything but there are several documentaries about these despicable crimes. On that note, I must say that in the last two years, the Mexican government along with the rest of the population made great strides when it comes to the crime rates.
Hopefully, that trend continues and all of this becomes a part of their past. The relatively unknown cast led by ruggedly handsome Luis Alberti, who plays Armando, was excellent. There was no melodrama or overacting here. Finally, if you’re looking for more cool Mexican movies, I highly recommend you check out El Infierno. Starring Damián Alcázar (Gilberto from Narcos), it’s an authentic dark comedy showing us how ordinary citizens become cartel members.
Director: Chava Cartas
Writer: Jose Ruben Escalante Mendez
Cast: Luis Alberti, Noé Hernández, Leonardo Alonso, Luis Curiel, David Calderón León, Guillermo Nava
Fun Facts: Contraataque AKA Counterstrike is available on Netflix as it is their production with a budget of $4 million.
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IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23648788/
