Across the Line opens with the line "This is the story of failure." I wish I had taken that as a sign to just stop watching then because the movie is a total failure. Unfortunately, I kept on going. Charlie Wright (Aidan Quinn) is an investment banker who apparently decided to pull the same schemes as Bernie Madoff. Charlie is a bit luckier though as he manages to escape from the FBI while they're watching him and waiting on the warrant to come in. It would have been nice to know how he manages to escape from that parking garage, but we just have to assume Charlie is a magician as well and disappears in a split second, while the driver checks a tire. It is estimated that Charlie has about $2 billion stashed somewhere, so you can imagine that there are a lot of people after him.
First, there's the FBI. Agent Hobbs (Mario Van Peebles) finds out that Charlie is in Tijuana by sheer luck. One of his agents, Jimmy (Jordan Belfi), who just happened to be on Charlie's case, just happens to vacation in Tijuana right after the FBI loses Charlie. Jimmy just happens to see Charlie on the street when he's leaving a bar one night. That's at least one too many coincidences, I know. You might wonder why Charlie went to a place like Tijuana instead of somewhere way out of the way and far away from the US. Apparently, Charlie left a woman behind in Tijuana 20 years ago, so he's there to look for her. The ruling crime family of Tijuana learns that Charlie is in Mexico, so they want a piece of the money. Led by Jorge Garza (Andy Garcia), they're a dangerous bunch for Charlie to be hunted by. If that wasn't enough, the Russian mob is after Charlie as well. They send their best man, Damon (Luke Goss), to Mexico to find him. The real question is will Charlie be lucky enough to escape them all?
The acting is really good in Across the Line. I have no complaints there. I just wish that the story would have been more engaging. It has a great concept, but is honestly just boring to watch. I can't say that I can recommend watching Across the Line: The Exodus of Charlie Wright unless you can't fall asleep and need a cure for insomnia.
