Hot Blood

This sexy Euro production is hard to rate, mainly because of how wildly uneven it is. The first half, concerning a botched bank robbery, is rather bland and poorly realized. but at the halfway point it completely switches gears. and gets a lot better. It starts with a seemingly random bank robbery in Spain, perpetrated by two Americans, but at the midway point it is revealed the bank is owned by the estranged father of the lead robber. And this is when the movie hits it's stride. It turns out the bank owner, also the richest man in town, is a celebrated Matador. 20 years ago he had separated with his wife, who moved to America with one of their two sons. The other one stayed with his bullfighter dad, and grew into a spoiled, entitled bum, following in his father's footsteps of being a Matador and bedding as many women as possible. When Julio and Ricardo meet for the first time a familial power struggle for their father's respect (and fortune) ensues. If you can get past the stilted first half, and can stomach the antics of Ricardo's foul mouthed partner, who manages to rape a woman while robbing the bank, this movie does pay off. On a side note, Sylvia Kristel is in this, but she is not a main character and doesn't have a lot of screen time, and her name was obviously used a selling point for this odd movie. And while Sylvia does not get naked, there is plenty of sex and eye candy on display, both female and male. Also featured is some interested bullfighting footage and some excellent traditional Spanish music throughout. Fans of sordid soap opera fare with erotic content should enjoy "Hot Blood."