A very shocking movie, We Die Young is a drama surrounding the notorious gang MS-13 and two youngsters caught up in their criminal activities. Although a fictional account, the film takes its audience into the streets of Washington DC where the plot develops. Nicely directed and written by Lior Gellar, the movie blasts its way through gang leadership and some of the reported rituals in recruiting members while spooling out the heartbreaking motion picture. It’s alarming! Now on home video in Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD.
Lucas Diaz (Elijah Rodriguez), a 14-year-old, has been taking care of his 10-year-old brother Miguel (Nicholas Sean Johnny) for months since his older brother was killed in military service. He runs a drug selling rout for MS-13 kingpin Rincon (David Castaneda) and is considered high up in the gang for his age. It’s the only way he can keep his brother safe from the dangerous streets of D.C. and save enough money for Miguel’s future education.
But, things start going bad when Miguel takes it upon himself to receive the ritual beating to become a member of MS-13. Lucas happens upon the ritual and pulls his brother away from the violent group led by Jester (Charlie MacGechan). Being close to Rincon isn’t the best thing however, especially because of the vicious Jester, who is jealous of Lucas’s position in the gang.
On this one day when Lucas has just finished his route, Rincon asks him to make a very important delivery, one that Jester feels takes office of and feels he should be making. Director and writer of the very good script Lior Gellar with co-writer Andrew Friedman starts the film off with a brutal start. He dives into the action with street scenes of MS-13, then slows it down a bit introducing the protagonist and hero Daniel played by Jean-Claude Van Damme. Gellar completes the casts’ characters early on and then sets the audience up for a front row seat on a The Godfather resembling thriller.
The acting by Elijah Rodriguez is very good showing Lucas’s love and passion to carry out what his older brother started. Having entered the MS-13 gang early on, his ability to bring in the money from lot of drug sales for Rincon has put him in a good spot to provide for the future of his brother. Rodriguez has only been in three films before We Die Young, but his fine performance in the co-starring role should boost his star power.
Providing the very chilling character Rincon, David Castaneda gets covered in tattoos, speaks like he’s in control and shows how violent his leadership can be. It’s a winning performance and it makes the film work, turning the movie into a The Godfather complete with wedding and meetings with some very scary dudes.
Some may say that Jean-Claude Van Damme is only in the film to draw his fans, but his character becomes the catalyst that’s needed to stir the pot with Lucas, Miguel and Rincon being the main ingredients. Being an ex-Marine who is living with PSTD and silenced due to a throat injury, he’s clouded by an incident he cannot forget. It’s this desire to correct his past and bring his life full circle that gets him involved with the Diaz brothers.
BONUS FEATURES:
“Commentary with Writer/Director Lior Geller and Actors Elijah Rodriguez and Nicholas Sean Johnny” you can turn this on after you have seen the film and play it again to find out some cool pointers on camera work, setups, stunts and other information on filmmaking.
“Storyboard-to-Screen” includes a comparison of the drawn pivotal chase scene to the actual movie.
“On the set of To Die Young” You can see how the filmmakers work on the film with acting and storyboard, including some exciting stunt work.
.
Even though not a true story, according to the Washington Post in an article by Michael E. Miller on June 11, 2018 that he posts in his article: “Here is what you need to know about MS-13, a street gang with an international reach.” (Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post) It that explains the threat from the violent gang. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/a-ticking-time-bomb-ms-13-threatens-a-middle-school-warn-teachers-parents-students/2018/06/11/7cfc7036-5a00-11e8-858f-12becb4d6067_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.f6a71b4221b1
We Die Young has been rated R by the MPAA for violence, language and some drug use. The brutality is very realistic and chilling and a terrifying chase scene becomes a roller coaster ride with guns blazing.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A very good film that has an action packed alarming storyline. (4 out of 5 Stars)
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Elijah Rodriguez, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Joana Metrass, David Castañeda, Nicholas Sean Johnny, Charlie MacGechan, Uriel Emil
Directed and written by: Lior Gellar
Genre: Drama, Crime
MPAA Rating: R for violence, language, some drug material
Running Time: 1 hr. 32 min.
Video Release Date: April 9, 2019
Original Theatrical Release Date: March 1, 2019
Language: English
Reviewed Format: Blu-ray
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Video: 1080p Widescreen16x9 Aspect Ratio 2.40:1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Number of Discs: 1 Disc plus digital code
Distributed by: Lionsgate Films
Released in: Blu-ray, DVD, Digital HD
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
