To me, this movie is perfection.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The film is kind of a moot for me initially, maybe I don't possess the cultural background of Cuban influence and American living experience. I find the film is an oddball with frustration, the narrative itself is featherweight, all the conflicts and explosive set pieces are squandered, the character moulding process is also bumpy and cursory, all the time what we saw are alternative quarreling between the brothers, sometimes trivial, sometimes sentimental (on the grounds of an appealing Antonio Banderas at his prime youth), otherwise too showy indeed, maybe the whole milieu has some exotic appeal to some people, with regard to me, the effect is a regretful null. The only saving grace of the film is its Oscar-nominated theme song, the ever famous BEAUTIFUL MARIA OF MY SOUL (could be better interpreted by another singer than Armand Assante), in my opinion the original score by Carlos Franzetti and Robert Kraft contains much more vibrant and soulful vibes. The two co-leaders Assante and Banderas are uncannily overblown and understated respectively, the bittersweet brotherhood lachrymosity is too gusty to digest. And the counter- part female characters (a chimney-voice Cathy Moriarty and a stolid Maruschka Detmers) all fail to catch their own shining moments. A rather spirit-lifting Celia Cruz is my desperate guilty pleasure (I love her performance during the end-credits). The scheme of the tragic accident is lousy and abrupt, which furthermore reflects the pompousness and self-consciousness of the ending. The film itself is just another Hollywood throwaway, kitschy and insincere, what a pity, it has Antonio Banderas in his heyday.

This movie was not nearly as good as I had heard. Being a musician myself, some of the references made sense. But as usual, Hollywood took over and it became the normal melodrama. Musically, the movie was magnificent. Whether you are a fan of Cuban music or not, it is sure to pull you in.Antonio Banderas was very believable, but Armand made me want to turn the channel. This is very much of a disappointment for me since I have enjoyed Assantes work in many other films. Kudos to Talisa Soto, we need to hear and see much more of her. She was very much underused. She can be seen (but not enough) in the Bond flick "License to Kill".

The first time I saw this movie, I cried. It brought out emotions I did not know I had. The performances were phenomenal. I knew Antonio could sing but Armand Assante was a huge surprise! The late, great Celia Cruz acts as sort of a every woman musically narrating the story. Another musical genius, that has since left this world, is Tito Puente. His performance sets up the audience for the electricity that follows. This movie portrayed every form of love know to humans-between family, man and woman and everyone's love of music. The passions that this movie ignites, well, I haven't felt since. I can't wait till it comes out on DVD because my VHS is a little worn. When they start to count down the greatest movies of all time I hope The Mambo Kings is in the top ten!

THE MAMBO KINGS (1992) *** Armand Assante, Antonio Banderas, Cathy Moriarty, Maruschka Detmers, Desi Arnaz Jr. Flamboyant and fun watching film about two immigrant Cuban brothers in 1950s NYC trying to make the big time with their style and music. Banderas is particularly good as the heartbroken younger sibling and the soundtrack is memorably poignant and lavish set designs as well.