There Are No Saints was quite a thrill ride…of contradictions. However, nevermind the plot holes, pyrotechnics that defied psychics, the wanton violence against women, the commitment of a cinema sin, and the film subjecting audiences to just about the most irredeemable protagonist since Patrick Bateman, I still found There Are No Saints to be a genuinely fun watch thanks to director Alfonso Pineda Ulloa successfully creating a murky world that was easy to get wrapped up in. Although the film is not without its faults, There Are No Saints is over-the-top in all of the right places and is an exciting action escape film.

There Are No Saints tells the story of a freshly released convicted murderer named Neto Niente (José María Yazpik) aka “The Jesuit”, nicknamed for his tendency to interrogate people using violent torture methods from the Spanish Inquisition. After reuniting with his loving young son and rekindling a romance with his ex-wife Nadia (Paz Vega), Niente soon sees his ex-wife killed and his son kidnapped by his ex-wife’s boyfriend, a criminal kingpin named Vincent (Neal McDonough). What ensues is a bloody rampage through the southwest as Niente uses every killing instrument within his reach to torture and kill anyone standing between him and his son.

There Are No Saints‘ editing felt like that of a B movie, but at the same time, it employed a well-known cast and showed evidence of relatively high production resources at other points — the contradiction gave off an experience similar to watching an action movie out of the 1990s, that relied on sex appeal, an explosion or two, and less than politically correct jokes to create its atmosphere, and it worked in the case of There Are No Saints. A lot of the film’s hand-to-hand combat scenes were reminiscent of those found in any of the John Wick movies, which seemed to have heavily inspired There Are No Saints.

However, unlike John Wick, the protagonist in There Are No Saints is wholly irredeemable. In retrospect, it is laughably so, since he chooses violence at the beginning, middle, and even after the end, showing that he learned about as many lessons as how many F’s he gives. Still, it was thrilling watching this anti-hero punch, kick, stab, and shoot his way to the end, no matter how unnecessary to the plot most of the kills seemed to be. The beginning of the movie felt like a long expositional setup for the protagonist’s personality and the finale felt both anticlimactic and emotionally unsatisfying, but the build-up was undeniably fun with high-octane car chases, tense gun battles, and high-impact fight scenes.

Just when I thought John Wick 3 was just about the goriest action movie possible, There Are No Saints came out of left field with a barrage of bullets, blood, and boobs and a high dose of 1990’s style action. Director Alfonso Pineda Ulloa created a gritty Southwestern noir with There Are No Saints, and showed off a love for thrills, yes, despite a lack of character development since the bad men learn no lessons and every woman falls in love with every bad man overnight. I would also argue a lapse in character designing if I am nit-picking since the protagonist’s suit seemed more fitting for an assassin than a gangster, and putting a wig and oversized bra on every single female character was unnecessary and distracting. However, There Are No Saints‘ faults were redeemed with stunning displays of graphic violence, zingy one-liners, badass kills, and top-quality talents including the likes of the great Ron Perlman, Paz Vega, and Tim Roth.

6.75 out of 10