Alicia I love this movie so much

Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

VividSimon Simply Perfect

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

SnoopyStyle It's 1952 Havana, Cuba. Cesar (Armand Assante) moves to NYC taking younger brother Nestor Castillo (Antonio Banderas) after getting into a dispute over Maria (Talisa Soto). The brothers are amazed at the nightlife and Tito Puente. Cesar falls for brash cigarette girl Lanna Lake (Cathy Moriarty) while Nestor is still in love with Maria. The brothers work odd jobs and play in the clubs at night. Nestor falls for shy Delores (Maruschka Detmers). His song "Beautiful Maria of My Soul" catches Desi Arnaz who elevates the brothers to fame. However it is fleeting as they encounter tragedy.It's a relatively good historical drama. The music is happening. The two actors are terrific. Assante is all energy and Banderas is charming. However the drama isn't that compelling. The story is without surprises. Arne Glimcher is limited as a director. Quite frankly, he has access to great music but he doesn't use it in an interesting way. Moriarty matches Assante's energy but Detmers is a hollow beauty. This a functional music pic but it could be more.

Lee Eisenberg When I watched "The Mambo Kings", I knew little if anything about that kind of music, so it sort of made the movie even more of a treat to hear it for the first time. In fact, I try to imagine living in New York in the early '50s and hearing the brothers bring their music to America for the first time; it must have been an experience unlike any other. But no matter, Armand Assante and Antonio Banderas did a really impressive job in their roles. It's no accident that this movie started Banderas on the career path that he's had ever since.Is this the greatest movie of all time? Not by any stretch. But I, for one, always like to learn about new types of music, so I have to give the movie credit for that. I recommend it. Also starring Cathy Moriarty and Desi Arnaz Jr.

AlexMoeller In the beginning this film was very promising. I think the start was good, but in the end I had lost all my enthusiasm. The film is about two brothers who come to America from Cuba. They are Mambo musicians,and they want to make it in New York. This was an OK starting point, but the movie faded into a mediocre story of all the hardships the two brothers face.3,5/10

george.schmidt 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.