Killing Cabos (2004) User Reviews (26)

A Gem of Dark Humor

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 6 October 2010]

In Mexico City, the powerful and violent magnate of steel Oscar Cabos (Pedro Armendáriz Jr.) surprises his daughter Paulina (Ana Claudia Talancón) having sex with her boyfriend and his employee Javier "Jaque" (Tony Dalton) and he works Jaque over. On the next day, Jaque pays a visit to Cabos in his office and the angry man comes with a golf club to hit Jaque again. However, Cabo accidentally treads on a golf ball, falls on the floor and faints. Jaque calls his best friend Mudo (Kristoff) to help him, but the janitor Nacho (Pedro Altamirano) finds his boss fainted on the floor and he steals and dresses his clothes and jewels. Meanwhile, Nacho's son Botcha (Raúl Méndez) and his friend Nico (Gustavo Sánchez Parra) have planned to kidnap Cabos and they are waiting for him in the garage. When he arrives in the place, the two kidnappers hit him on the back, believing that he is Cabos, and they wear a hood covering his face. They head with the abducted man to the house of Botcha's girlfriend Lula (Rocío Verdejo). Meanwhile, Jaque and Mudo calls their wrestler friend Ruben "Mascarita" (Joaquín Cosio) and his midget partner Tony 'El Cannibal' (Silverio Palacios) to help them to get rid of Cabos in his birthday party. But both plans do not work well along the night.

"Matando Cabos" is a gem of dark humor and one of the funniest comedies that I have recently seen. This comedy of errors has a wonderful and original screenplay, and the situations are unpredictable and hilarious. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Matando Cabos" ("Killing Cabos")

The story of two kidnappings that go badly wrong (but in a very funny way)

[anneasss · 8/10 · 17 March 2005]

Although it is not a master piece or or anything; it is good to have many good laughs and just have a good time. "Matando Cabos" is about two kidnappings (among other things) that go very wrong. Mr. Cabos is a ruthless business man who has hurt and taken advantage of many. Everybody hates him. On the same night different people decide to get back to him; but things go very wrong, confusion starts and things get mixed up (very mixed up).

The movie is funny from start to finish even tragic things can turn into a funny scene. It's a movie that laughs at the misfortunes of life. It does have some really violent and sexual scenes (not my favorite) but it is part of the way the movie is done. I am not sure if foreigners would like it, it is "Mexican" humor. It's worth the try.

This movie was the good revelation of the week!

[Lady_Targaryen · 8/10 · 7 October 2010]

Oscar Cabos is a powerful magnate from Mexico known by his violence towards people who displease him. And everybody hates him. However, one day, when Cabo faints, a big confusion is made, with two kidnappers trying to kidnap Cabos and taking the wrong man instead. Things get really mixed up, specially when Jaque and Mudo try to help Cabos bringing him to his house.

''Matando Cabos' was the good surprise of this week for me. I took this movie to watch after a recommendation of the librarian of my Spanish course and after almost 3 days watching nothing but ordinary movies, I come across this great Mexican movie! The situations are hilarious (and some of them are creepy, like when Botcha cuts his own father's finger!) and the movie has very good and tense moments. I don't consider it exactly a comedy, it's more like a mix of an action/ dark comedy movie, but it is VERY worthwhile!

I can say that it became one of my favorite Mexican movies of all times!

Inventive, Refreshing and Original Indie Movie from Mexico.

[00BEHAVE-2 · 25 June 2004]

I attended a special screening for this movie and I was quite surprised to see two Mexican aspiring actors writing and starring their own motion picture. The premise of the movie is that it was done by people under the age of thirty. Thus, it is intended to be enjoyed solely by this sector of the population. This film noir that uses black comedy as well as screwballism is very funny indeed and it is very inventive. The presence of only two well known actors (Pedro Armendáriz and Ana Claudia Talancón) increases the audience's interest in the plot itself. One problem that this movie faces is that it has too many things to tell and very little time. It is possible for the spectator to find it slow at times, but it's ending is well worth the wait. Newcomers galore in this wonderful Mexican production. This movie represents Mexican cinema that is well done and that has right support. I recommend it strongly. **** out of 5 stars.

A great improvement of Mexican Cinema

[renegsan · 10/10 · 22 July 2004]

"Matando Cabos" is the title of Alejandro Lozano's debut film, that even when it shares some similitude with American Films, such as "Pulp Fiction" and "Taxi Driver", it stands as a great movie, bringing a refreshing breathe to Mexican commercial cinema.

The major attractive of the film lies in its screenplay. The story is about two best friends, Jaque and Mudo, that are involved on a critical situation when they accidentally kidnap their boss, the sadistic and rich Oscar Cabos, and they hide him on Jaque's car. Meanwhile, a kidnapper's band, directed by the son of Cabos' ex-best friend, plan to take him to ask for money. But they take the wrong person and that's how a series of funny events, plagued with a black humor-screenplay, are shown by a bunch of hilarity characters that add a special charm in the movie.

Of course, this film is far from been compared to "Amores Perros", "Y tu Mamá También" or "El Crimen del Padre Amaro", which were deeper and focused on complex and even controversial issues. On the other hand, in "Matando Cabos" we have a well written and light story from the beginning to the end.

Finally, it's very remarkable the use of f/x for the car-chase scene filmed in the Estadio Azteca, supervised by people in charge of effects for "Matrix", that is the most expensive scene ever done in Mexican Cinema's history and by the way, the best Mexican action film. That's the reason why the film was released on summer, because it's able to compete against the mega-budgeted productions.

One of the best movies of the Mexican commercial films that vindicates national cinema with its fresh air and leaves the door open for future indie and risky films that are changing the face of Mexican movies. Great film, excellent casting, very funny and catchy. Don't miss it.

9 out of 10

Clever Fun

[leo1973 · 9/10 · 26 March 2005]

Good characters, well paced, with a tight script full of twist and well placed turns. People will often dismiss any movie that is well crafted by comparing it to another movie that's well crafted. In this case I felt like it was more of a good thing instead of "more of the same", sort of like getting a second helping of something great. The movie does build it's central premise (a series of wild coincidences, characters that are larger than life, the fast paced-all in one night action) on other movies that feature similar elements (Snatch, Pulp Fiction, etc) but because the situations and characters are unique I did not feel ripped off. Overall I found this film to be very entertaining. I saw it at Sundance this year (2005). I hope it comes out in the US, I would recommend it to anybody that like to be entertained.

Que Padre

[travelintom · 7/10 · 9 September 2005]

I just saw Matando Cabos. I have sent emails alerting my friends to see it before it leaves movie houses here in Phoenix. Familiarity with Mexico and its modern culture are a bonus but not requisite to liking this movie. Previous IMDb comments unfairly compare it to Pulp Fiction. There are very few films that could be so measured. The small audience here laughed out loud throughout. I laughed to the point of tears. This is not a "classic" and gets no 10 rating from me, as would Pulp Fiction. This is, however, the funniest film I have seen all year. It made me wish my Spanish were better, I'd bet this is even funnier than the subtitles present.

Laugh until your sides sore

[Gonzalez_Jorge · 9/10 · 1 September 2004]

'Matando Cabos' is a mixture of the retro, Tarantino and absurd movies. It's a must to all of us that adored the b-movies of the 70s.

The story is not pretentiously developed in a way to be unpredictable, it's more like going out in this trip that you simply don't know what's going to happen next because you simply just don't know, just like in 'Go!'. In this fashion, 'Matando Cabos' results in an entertaining and hilarious urban adventure.

For all of those who are just sick of all those Latin American movies that just try to "portray" the reality of society with stories around prostitution, corruption, crime and injustice, you ought to see this movie. It's a good way to see that in Latin America they also "just want to have fun".

Not my kind of comedy,nothing that funny or likable.

[jaybob · 6/10 · 12 July 2009]

My summary may seem somewhat harsh,as so many seemed to enjoy this,

There are a few likable scenes,but not enough to warrant a thumbs up from me.

Alejandro Lozano directed. It was written by Tony Dalton & Kristoff. these 2 gentlemen also are 2 of the leads.

There are very few likable persons in this farce of a mistaken kidnapping.

I found nothing funny about the excessive needless violence.

Now I do like violent movies,but here it was overdone. It also needed a more likable kidnap victims.

I also like wrestling,the few bits here do not come over. I will stop now,if I write more I may have to lower my rating even further.

Ratings: **1/2 (out of 4)66 points (out of 100) IMDb 6 (out of 10)

Hilarious

[Raiderfanmarc77 · 8/10 · 26 October 2004]

I find it amusing that so many would bash this movie based on what they thought of Blockbuster movies that have come before it. In many posts, I've noticed people mention movies like Scarface, Reservoir Dogs, Fight Club, and Pulp Fiction. People, if every movie was that good, then those movies would not be considered great films. They would be your typical run-of-the-mill movie that anyone can accomplish. The reason they are difficult to achieve is because not just anyone can do it. I thought this movie was funny. Maybe to a lot of people in the poverty ravaged country of Mexico, it's not funny because of the next to life reality of a severed finger and a senseless beating to a sequester victim, but to us in the U.S who have been desensitized by all the smut we see at the movie theaters, this is a great movie. There were some really funny moments in this movie, including the bus chase scene and the romantic love scene at the end involving el cannibal and Cabos' wife. Also, Ana Claudia Talancon was aesthetically pleasing.

A smart Comedy

[aegutierrez · 9/10 · 27 September 2004]

Matando Cabos is a smart comedy about two friends that try to get Cabos a powerful and fearful business men in Mexico City to his home after he get hit. This film although uses a lot of profanity is one of the best comedies produce in Mexico in the last 5 years. It also establish that Mexican Comedy Cinema can do better things than La Risa en Vacasiones or Corazon de Melon. This movie is more oriented to a teenage audience, but it sure be fun to people older than 14 years. Watch this movie give an opportunity to this Mexican Comedy I tell you that your gonna laugh during the whole movie. It is also an important breakthrough to Limon Films its production company to get its film out of the Cineteca Nacional and to a bigger audience.

Very Very Entertainting

[princebansal1982 · 5/10 · 12 July 2011]

This is a very entertaining films which is similar in pace and style to Snatch and "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels". There are many improbable situations and improbable characters. But it still has small hold on reality so it never becomes idiotic. It is still a big madcap adventure in which lot of stuff goes.

The pace of the movie is fantastic and there is always something happening. There is lot of violence and sex. Lot of bad things happen but it is always funny and I don't mean smiling black comedy funny, I mean ha ha funny.

Acting is very balanced, there are many good characters but none of the actors have tried to outshine others. A must see movie if you like Guy Ritchie's brand of cinema.

"matando cabos"...this is a very good movie, very funny......

[azulcielo2004 · 9/10 · 29 August 2005]

I recommend this movie: "matando cabos" It's a very funny movie, you will forget your problems because you will be laughing since the movie start to the end. There are more good movies in Mexico, like "Como agua para chocolate" , Nicotina , Amores Perros"., so Mexican people are doing a good job with this movies. In my opinion, the actors are good, anyway, this kind of movies are good for distraction, laughing, and when you want to have a very good time and want to forget your own problems. The director did an excellent job with this movie, including the actors were working on it. Some American movies are boring, and they suppose to make you laugh.

Excellent piece of movie making!

[cguisa · 10/10 · 22 July 2004]

If you liked 'Snatch', 'Pulp Fiction' or 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels', then you're in for a treat! This is such a great movie! It's the story of two guys in the night in serious trouble. They have one body, one car and absolutely no idea of what to do with them. I won't say more, but I can tell you, you have to see this movie, it is a perfectly well done piece of movie making and as a bonus you get to see a De Niro's memorable line acted by a Mexican, what can I say? it's hilarious. It's a different, refreshing and funny way of making movies, specially for a Mexican movie. Don't miss it, you won't regret to see this if you have the opportunity. Superb!!! 9 out 10.

Diversión garantizada

[aleydro · 31 July 2004]

Diversión garantizada Fun for sure

Funny from beginning to end, with great references to the classic Mexican wrestling cinema (el santo) and very interesting characters, being "mascarita" and the cannibal unique, all mix up in a movie that in my opinion didn't had many expectations, but at the end it was all worth, really entertaining.

Also, even though the acting from Tony and Kristoff is not Oscar winning, is light but adjusts to the characters, simple and stupid, and don't forget "butcher", a kind of nice psycho trying to avenge his father and being such a funny villain.

8/10

Better dark comedy thriller about kidnapping than Fargo

[sprichnichtzumir · 10/10 · 4 October 2021]

The script is just pure Mexican genius. Entertaining from start to end. Very well written characters too. This is the best movie I've seen in a long time. If you don't watch this just because of subtitles, you're missing a gem.

Somethimes I think to myself that if americans have done this movie instead, it would have gained way more attention worldwide, because this movie deserves it, but sadly, it's not very known.

Great fun, but horrible ending!

[RichardKleiner · 8/10 · 18 November 2007]

In a visual style reminiscent to "Snatch" and cultural references similar to "Pulp Fiction", Mexico does an attempt at making a neo-noir smash hit comedy. It worked! Having a classic but very funny mix-up plot, you add excellent in-jokes and situations that crack you up all over the night. Average acting, like Tony Dalton's, added to Kristoff Racynsky's humorous persona makes this a very good piece of Mexican cinema. My favorite scenes were the cross-eyed "microbusero", the bar brawl and the "damned bird" that wont shut up. As it was expected, the dialog is plagued with cursing, sometimes being funny and others exploiting some curse words way too much. Anyway, the car chase scene in the Ztec stadium is beautiful. The only thing that kept me from praising completely was the ending. It was very disappointing. Tony "the cannibal" was a completely useless character, and all we see him actually do (the bar brawl not included) is him sleeping with Cabos' wife. I personally would have enjoyed him kicking Cabos' ass when he encounters him in the bedroom, instead of beating his poor friend up. That was more cruel than funny. And I would have loved to see the cross-eyed "microbusero" once again.

With some minor flaws, this is the best Maxican film recently. Too bad the same production company was the same to give us "Km 31"

This movie is better than a lot of American movies!

[jnegrecam · 9/10 · 6 April 2005]

There are some people that only sees sh*t in the Mexican movies nowadays instead o supporting, I mean I don't really think the people of Sundance don't know anything about movies! The acting is good, the screenplay is hilarious, the fx are quite good, the characters are funny I especially love the "Santo" spoof), the best in show is Joaquin Cosio ("Mascarita"), of course its not the best of the movies but its entertaining and that is something everybody likes right?

If there's one thing i have to say bad in this movie is that Ana Claudia Talancon was wasted in the movie

So to all the people stop discriminating your own product and enjoy this movie because its entertaining!

Goofy and violent

[themoviecouch · 5/10 · 26 October 2012]

It would be an exaggeration to call this Mexican action-comedy "good." It is disjointed, full of stupid actions on the part of the principles, and the comedic tone is often thrown off by gratuitous violence. "Matando Cabos" is, however, a certain amount of fun.

The titular Sr. Cabos is a psychopathic businessman known for fits of rage and brutality. In the process of attacking one of his employees, he trips and knocks himself unconscious. This puts the employee, who happens to be engaged to Sr. Cabos's daughter, in an awkward situation, especially when he goes for help, returns with his co-worker, and finds his still-unconscious boss inexplicably stripped to his underwear. There follows a wacky night of capers involving kidnappers, mistaken identities, two unconscious men, and professional wrestlers. If "Weekend at Bernie's" had been in Spanish, had two bodies instead of one, and periodically degenerated into graphic violence, it would have been "Matando Cabos."

Tony Dalton and Kristoff, who play the two leads, play their characters as a couple of goofballs, and are nothing special. Nor do Ana Claudia Talancon and Rocio Verdejo, the two main actresses, do anything to distinguish themselves other than look good. It is Joaquin Cosio and Silverio Palacios, who play the wrestlers Mascarita and Tony the Cannibal, who make the movie. These guys carry themselves with a cool and confidence that makes them the center of every scene. It actually makes no sense that these two would be willing to spend a night risking their lives for a guy they haven't talked to in years, but that's part of what I liked about the characters. They are the kind of guys that if a friend calls, they will show up, ready for anything.

inventive? not even near!

[farchondo · 19 July 2004]

Matando Cabos is a complete tribute to Pulp Fiction and some other American movies, that if it wasn't for the language (spanish) and the little parody of El Santo (which is one of the few highlights of this movie)I wouldn't know that this is a Mexican film. Those dialogues extracted literally from Taxi Driver in one scene? a shame. This movie is done by some fancy kids with the intention to glorify the Tarantino style and a type of American cinema that doesn't need more cheers than the one that has already been giving in the USA, but if you are already out of ideas and you wanted to do a Tarantino dirty stylish Mexican film at least you should have written those typical adapted Reservoir Dogs dialogues strong and smart enough to keep out that boring "we already seen that and better" feeling.

Why all this new self-made Mexican film-makers can't come with original ideas or at least with a homemade tribute? The movie felt like a sequel of Nicotina (a Mexican copycat of Snatch and Smocking Barrels), it makes me feel like there is no Indio Fernandez, no Almada Brothers, no Pedro Armendariz's father! to honor so we have to honor foreign concepts. All right, there is some good earn funny moments, very chilango moments too, in the movie but where is no substance there is nothing good enough to make our film industry a worthy one, let's not say a good representation of the Mexican way of life with all those cartonish characters like the ones in Matando Cabos.

The most relevant movie of Mexico's history

[danielhoffmann-56850 · 10/10 · 13 July 2020]

To this date there hasnt been any other movies that has caused as many laughs as this movie. The people who have seen still quote this film's best scenes such as "ever", "estas bien pinche bisco" or "callen a ese pinche panaro'. Though the techniques of filming are very reminiscent of movies made in those years, like a clear heavy influence by Guy Ritchie, the film mamages to get it's own narrative and style, making it standalone in the mexican comedy films world.

Excellent script

[isaacochoterena · 9/10 · 28 August 2021]

This film is a jewel among modern Mexican films, it has one of the best scripts I have ever seen, it delves into the why of things that happen. The performances are very good, the car chase sequences are good, most of the action sequences are also good but others are not so good, it is fun, the only bad thing could be that some scenes are filmed in the "Azteca Stadium" but they do not add anything to the story to record them in that place, it is a bit unnecessary to have used that location, but despite that it is entertaining and highly recommended.

Unfunny, stupid Tarantino imitation

[jorisf-826-743977 · 2/10 · 18 May 2014]

Hard to believe that this flick currently has an IMDb rating of above 7.

The language is Spanish, but it tries so hard to copy Tarantino that there is nothing genuinely Mexican about it. Although there are a few laughs, most jokes are very stupid.

The two main characters are boring college boys trying to look cool. They apparently actually wrote this garbage, and like Tarantino in his later movies were vain enough to think that it would be cool to appear on screen despite lacking any acting qualities whatsoever. What they lack in talent they more than make up for in arrogance.

Joaquín Cosio on the other hand does have an impressive stage presence, but it was nowhere near enough to save this flick. Only in a fantasy someone like him would hang out with boring twits like the two writers. Pedro Armendáriz Jr. was funny, but he only had a very small part. The rest of the cast are about as forgettable as the two writers.

Anyway: if you want to see a Spanish language version of a Tarantino movie, watch a Tarantino movie dubbed in Spanish. If you want to see a good Mexican movie with violence and dark humor, watch El Infierno. If you want to be bored and annoyed, watch Matando Cabos.

A good dark comedy

[ailedvillagomez · 23 March 2021]

I really liked the comedy of the film, and our characters are shown completely human, I loved the ironic contrast in a lot of aspects of the film, I think that is what made it a very enjoyable comedy.

Forgotten..hm, what is the opposite of pearl?

[xnicofingerx · 3/10 · 27 July 2023]

Oh, what a pain that was. I had to make a real effort to sit through this wannabe Tarantino, and was glad when I "had" to go to the toilet or the fridge. I didn't bother to stop the film, so I could shorten the suffering a bit.

I don't want to deny the film a certain pace or a few ideas of its own, but there was too little and too much of all that in equal measure, no contradiction. Simply cramp. Innovation was hardly possible in the genre, which was dead at the time, certainly, but couldn't they have invested the energy in a line of their own instead of a silly story without depth with a lot of, but unpleasantly put-on violence. No question, there are rightly many fans of this tonality, but after the 100th rehash I was getting really tired of the whole thing.... Fortunately, I had no expectations of this Mexican work of art, so I wasn't too disappointed and can simply put a veil of oblivion over it.