Film

Bandidas

Name: Bandidas
Genre: Action, Comedy, Western, Crime
Released: 2006
Cast: Penélope Cruz, Salma Hayek Pinault, Steve Zahn, Dwight Yoakam, Denis Arndt

A rollicking 1906 Mexican heist romp where a peasant and an heiress become unlikely outlaws, robbing from a corrupt railroad baron. It's a cheerful, anarchic adventure that swaps cynicism for pure fun—two charismatic women outrunning and outsmarting everyone around them. For viewers who want their action with laughs and their heroines uncompromised.

TMDb rating

3.0

If you liked this

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid1969

The template for charismatic outlaws: two leads with genuine chemistry, witty banter, period action, and a refusal to take themselves seriously. Paul Newman and Robert Redford do exactly what Cruz and Hayek do here.

But It's slower and more melancholic than Bandidas, and the ending doesn't let charm win. Also seventy minutes longer, which tests patience.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid poster

The Ballad of Little Jo1993

A woman outlaw survives the Old West through grit and disguise. Same period, same outsider energy, utterly serious about female agency where Bandidas is playful—they're distant cousins tonally, but share real conviction.

But It's a slow, meditative portrait of survival, not a romp. No heists, no laughs, and the visual beauty won't compensate if you came for action.

True Grit2010

A young woman and an ageing marshal hunt a killer across frontier terrain. Sharp dialogue, genuine affection between mismatched partners, and a heroine who refuses to be decorative. The Coen Brothers' version has style and spine.

But Far grimmer in tone, and the violence matters morally. If you want escapism rather than reckoning, this will feel heavy-handed.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Bandidas

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Viva Zapata!1952

Both centre Mexican protagonists resisting corrupt power in their own land, but Viva Zapata asks what revolution actually means, while Bandidas asks what fun it can be.

Marlon Brando as the Mexican revolutionary general, in a film that takes the Mexican landscape and political resistance seriously—the opposite of Bandidas' fun. But both put Mexican characters in the centre of an American action story, and both ask what justice costs.

But It's a prestige biopic from the '50s: slow, stately, didactic. The romance is secondary and the politics are heavy-handed. Nothing like the comic lightness you came for.

The Quick and the Dead1995

Sharon Stone as a gunslinger in a female-centred revenge Western. Stylized, operatic, loud, and unashamed of its own artifice. It knows it's fun and commits to it.

But Sam Raimi's visual excess won't appeal to purists, and the script is thinner than its ambitions. Can feel more style than substance.

Johnny Guitar1954

The first Western centred on women outlaws—Joan Crawford and Mercedes McCambridge as rivals running a saloon in dangerous country. Raw, strange, genuinely ahead of its time in how it treats female power.

But It's genuinely odd and formally experimental. If you want a narrative that moves cleanly from A to B, this will frustrate you.

Desperado1995

Robert Rodriguez's cartoonish gunfight ballet: style, colour, chaos, and unapologetic entertainment. Same energy of 'having fun with genre', though the lead is male and the violence is cleaner.

But The plot is gossamer-thin and the macho posturing will grate if you're not in the mood. Also considerably more violent without the softening humour.

The Mexican2001

Brad Pitt and James Caan in a heist-adjacent caper that prioritizes charm and banter over coherence. If Bandidas appeals, this scratches the same itch: crime as an excuse for likeable people to be in rooms together.

But It's lumpy and doesn't quite work. The tone wars with itself and the resolution feels tacked on. Not terrible, just unfocused.

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs2018

A Netflix anthology of six Western stories, each with different tones and styles. The title episode has genuine wit and visual invention; later instalments shift genre entirely. Variety and craft in every frame.

But As an anthology, nothing lands with the force of a full narrative. Each story is twenty to thirty minutes, which can feel abrupt. Some tales are slow.

Rustlers' Rhapsody1985

A Western spoof so affectionate it almost becomes sincere. Tom Berenger as a '50s cowboy dropped into an '80s pastiche; it's dorky and committed and genuinely weird in its construction.

But The humour is very broad and very '80s. If that sensibility dates badly for you, nothing here will land. It's also thinner than Bandidas, more sketch than story.

The Ocean's 11 Story2001

Both movies use robbery as an excuse to put charismatic people together and watch them work. The plot serves the company, not the other way around.

The blueprint for heist-as-hang-out: a team film where the camaraderie and wit between characters matters more than the actual plan. Soderbergh's version proved you can have style, charm, and entertainment in the same sentence.

But It's slicker and more Manhattan-cool than Bandidas' scrappiness. If you want grit or consequence, this aspirational glamour will feel hollow. Also, the heist itself isn't particularly clever.