Given how many negative reviews there were I was surprised by how good this movie is. Now it's not good enough to watch in theater, you're still better off waiting for this film to show up on Amazon Prime Video.
It seems to have suffered from script issues. There was a subplot that went nowhere and did nothing. It seemed to be shoe horned in there so that Amanda Seyfried could be put in the film.... but otherwise served no purpose.
I think the other problem is that the film tries to be fun but also serious and that doesn't always work out.
The more I think about this movie, I like it. Not so much as a comedy, but as a drama/dramedy with a little action.
Also, I can't recall connecting with a lead character in a comedy as hard as I did with Harold. This is kind of impressive drama-wise, and a testament to Oyelowo's acting skills. Gringo really has heart.
Didn't laugh as hard as I wanted to though, but some laughs were fine and chuckle worthy. I think this needed a tighter script and better joke writers because no one in this movie outside of Copley is known for their comedy skills.
Gringo wasn't great, but it wasn't bland, it wasn't some mass-produced, studio-butchered, please-everybody movie that is a problem in Hollywood. When Hollywood stops making bad movies, then I'll complain about movies on this level, but when the Transformers series is still going strong a mid-budget, enjoyable two hours isn't something I'm going to accuse of ruining movies.