Franck Gastambide’s 2023 French action-comedy Medellin is what you need if you want to kick back and enjoy some physical comedy but are also looking for a no-brainer action movie. This Fast & Furious knock-off, coming all the way from France, stars Franck Gastambide, Ramzy Bedia, Anouar Toubali, and also Mike Tyson in a guest appearance. While Mike’s name should be enough to go check out the movie, here’s a detailed breakdown of Medellin and all you need to know about it.
Spoilers Ahead
Why Do The Frenchmen Go To Colombia?
In France, mechanic Stan is contacted by his adoptive brother Reda, the local tough guy who runs a boxing dojo. Things have gone stupendously wrong because Reda’s brother Brahim’s obsession with the Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar has gotten him into a world of trouble. Brahim used to dress and style himself like the Narcos on social media, and for one such clout-chasing adventure, he’d been streaming from Medellin, Colombia, when he was abducted by the Colombian cartel. Nobody has heard from Brahim since then, and the news outlets are covering the case, but the French authorities haven’t offered any help. Reda takes it upon himself to rescue his brother and gathers the entire dojo with him because they’re going to free Brahim from the cartel the next morning.
The following morning, Stan and Reda realize that they’re the only ones standing in the airport, as nobody else wants to risk their lives for a Narcos wannabe. Well, they’re almost the only ones because, unbeknownst to them, Chafik has come to help, and the two missed him because Chafik is a little person. So the team of two and a half men board the plane to Colombia after a lot of argument between Stan and Reda.
What Does Stan Find In The Morning?
Upon arriving in Medellin, Reda puts his Spanish to good use and immediately learns from their hotel owner that they should avoid the club named Barrraputa because it’s frequented by the cartel. So obviously, the three head to the club in the evening, more so because it’s a strip club as well. There, dancing at their booth, is a beautiful stripper named Cynthia, and Stan is immediately smitten by her, but Reda wants information from her. But she’s too scared to offer anything valuable, and once more, after a lot of arguments, Stan, Reda, and Chafik go on a bender full of drugs, booze, and more strippers.
The Frenchmen wake up with a tremendous hangover in the morning, and Stan narrates the crazy dream he’d had where they’d kidnapped a Narcos in the “Hangover” style. However, Stan is rather stumped when he learns that it wasn’t a dream and that there’s a gagged Narcos in their hotel room. Reda makes a video using the Narcos’ phone, offering an exchange to let go of his brother Brahim, lest they want their gang member dead. No sooner had Reda uploaded a video; a call arrived from Brahim’s number, and it was Brahim on the other side.
What Happened To Brahim?
Considering what Brahim had to say on the phone, anyone else would’ve abandoned the city immediately, leaving Brahim to his fate. The brother revealed that he was chilling at a hotel on a beach after staging his whole kidnapping. This was a staged kidnapping to earn more followers and go viral. He also proceeded to inform Reda and co. that the Narcos that Reda and co. captured was Don Nacho, the son of El Diablo (Raymond Cruz). If you’ve seen Breaking Bad, you know how terrifying Cruz can be if he’s coked out, so if thinking clearly, he’s a lot worse as an antagonist. Soon afterward, it was the devil himself (Diablo is the ‘Devil’ in Spanish) calling the kidnappers, and Reda quickly lost his cool. With Diablo’s men getting locked and loaded to go get Nacho back, the kidnappers get in their stolen car and go on a wild ride across Medellin. Although Stan’s driving saves the Frenchmen from being captured, Diablo’s men storm Brahim’s hotel, and he’s captured. That’s not all; Diablo sends Reda a video of Brahim being tortured with threats of feeding him to the dogs if Nacho isn’t brought back.
What Happens At The Sea?
This’d be a good time to apologize and take Nacho back, but Reda, in his infinite wisdom, decides to antagonize the most terrifying Narcos of Colombia by throwing his son in shark-infested waters. He then Facetimes Diablo to let him know they’re throwing chum as Nacho screams for help from the water. Diablo agrees to go easy with the dogs on Brahim and asks them to bring his son to the old cemetery the following day to get Brahim back. But the chum attracts a shark, and by the time the Frenchmen pull Nacho into the boat, the shark has torn away both his legs from the knee down. Reda and Stan carry Nacho to the nearest doctor, or rather, a vet, and as he does emergency surgery on the unconscious Nacho, Stan speaks to Cynthia. She asks him a bunch of questions about the havoc they’ve caused and asks where they’re meeting Diablo tomorrow, and immediately after hanging up, undercover cop Cynthia asks permission from the chief to nab Diablo.
Stan also rescues a little dog that was set to be put down while Chafik volunteers to give blood to Nacho. By morning, Chafik looks like a wrung-out Capri Sun, as Reda and Stan put it, but Nacho wakes up and immediately alerts the vet that these men have kidnapped him. The French quickly shut Nacho up, and they go to the drop-off point. The exchange is about to go smoothly when Nacho falls out of the car. Seeing his son without legs, Diablo opens fire, and Stan, Reda, and Chafik have to take off on foot. After a long chase, they’re rescued by the undercover cop, whose real name is Marissa. Even the rescued dog joins them in the car. Reda mourns the death of his brother, but a video from Diablo shows Brahim has been hung upside down, and this is an open challenge to Reda to save his brother. Marissa says her corrupt boss didn’t let her arrest Diablo, so there’s only one person in Colombia who can help them.
How Does Robbie Help The Guys?
Enter Mike Tyson as Robbie, the retired US Army veteran. Robbie preps Stan and Reda with guns and lends them high-tech gadgets, while Chafik is sent in as bait to reveal where they’re keeping Brahim. At night, with Robbie on surveillance, Stan and Reda infiltrate the base, and after a lot of ado, Stan finally begins killing. The two kill a lot of cartel members and finally manage to escape with Brahim and Chafik, but Stan has taken quite a beating by then. They arrive at the final place from where they’ll fight the rest of the battle, and it’s the estate of Pablo Escobar.
Medellin’ Ending Explained: Are The Frenchmen Able To Escape El Diablo?
As Brahim goes ecstatic in joy at seeing the sprawling, abandoned mansion of his idol, the cutthroat drug trafficker Escobar, the others discover a helicopter that they can to escape. The group sends a video to Diablo, who’s by now taking in the damage these Frenchmen have done, and they taunt him into coming to Escobar’s estate for the final showdown. As Diablo’s entire crew heads for Hacienda del Escobar, Reda chastises his brother for idolizing someone as horrid as Pablo Escobar. After a lot of tough love, the brothers embrace when Marissa arrives and informs Reda of a problem. It’s her turn to leave, and Stan sends the dog with her, but she pauses to give him a kiss. Soon, Diablo’s men begin swarming into the estate as Chafik and Brahim beeline towards the helicopter, where Stan is learning how to fly the machine. Reda locks himself inside a room, calls Stan on the walkie-talkie, and says he won’t be coming because the bomb that they’d planted won’t work unless it’s detonated from the inside. Brahim threatens to jump off the copter as Stan begins flying when Reda speaks to his little brother, asking him to take care of their mother and saying that he loves him. Diablo barges into the room and aims his gun at Reda, but with one final expletive directed at the Colombian drug lord, Reda explodes the entire estate as Stan, Chafik, and Brahim fly away with tears in their eyes. The French do escape as Diablo and all his men are killed in the explosion, but so is Reda, who sacrifices himself to protect his brother and friends.
Back home in France, Brahim changes his get-up completely and replaces his brother as the boxing coach to pay good deeds forward, and a photograph of Robbie hangs on the wall, who adopted Marissa and the little dog. Stan sits before a tall building that has massive graffiti venerating the deceased Reda as “Champion.” Thus, these street urchins not only take on the Colombian mafia to rescue their brother from certain death but also destroy the most dangerous narcotics in the country. Medellin carries the subtext that doesn’t go chasing clout that won’t bring any good, save momentary fame, and instead do acts of kindness. It’s also an important lesson that people need to choose their heroes wisely, and this should serve as an eye-opener for the Andrew Tate fanboys because there are a lot better heroes to idolize.
Medellin is a 2023 action thriller film directed by Franck Gastambide.
