Having just seen the would-be grindhouse remake of The Last House on the Left (which is re-oriented from revenge towards protection and audience cheering) I’m amused to read about Sean Penn signing on to Cartel, in which he’ll try to protect his child from the Mexican cartel that killed his wife.
Sounds like boilerplate prestige stuff skewed as high-profile protection/revenge pablum, but the weird bit is this: Variety says the project is being developed as an action vehicle for Penn. He’s not the go-to guy for ‘splosions, so that could be worth watching.
Asger Leth is directing from Peter Craig’s script, which was based on the 1993 Italian film La
scorta. That “followed four cops’ struggle to guard a special
prosecutor trying to bring mob bosses to justice.”
In the wake of Variety’s report, Latino Review is reporting that Javier Bardem is also in serious talks to join the cast. He’d be Rafael Castillo, an upstanding DA who turned away from his wealthy family to fight the cartels. Bardem signing on alongside Penn would make this a more intriguing draw.