I've seen this movie a few times and while it does have it's moments, it also has some really fundamental flaws. Overall I consider it mediocre at best.<br /><br />WARNING, POSSIBLE SPOILER AHEAD...<br /><br />First of all I thought some of the prison scenes were a little on the far fetched side and really strained my credulity - specifically one where Pedro and company confront a rival black gang leader and his crew in the cell block for several minutes with hoots and jeers and toilet paper flying all around. I really can't believe that the prison guards wouldn't have intervened long before they did. And the idea that the Latino gang would dare to kill the Mafia crime bosses son was ridiculous.<br /><br />Secondly, as some other reviewers have commented, the overuse of the words "ese" and "homes". I'm not even a Latino and I found this stereotypical and contrived.<br /><br />The films was rather long and slow moving and could definitely benefited from editing.<br /><br />There were no really sympathetic characters and some of them were down-right repugnant. I didn't even particularly like Pedro's girlfriend, Yolanda. I can't empathize with someone who falls for a man who spent 18 years in the joint running a prison gang and is then surprised when he turns out to be a user and fake and not a social reformer. About the only person who seemed to have any honor at all was "El Japo" A movie needs to have someone you connect with and root for me to enjoy it.<br /><br />Lastly, there was no optimism at all to the ending. It seemed to say to me, "It's all hopeless and will never end". Rather depressing.<br /><br />Overall, a nice try, but fall short of the mark.