Antonio Banderas returns as the mythic guitar slinging hero El Mariachi in director Robert Rodriguez' sequel to "Desperado."
Excellent conclusion to Robert Rodriguez's 'Mariachi' ('Guitarist') saga, which began way back in 1992 with 'El Mariachi' and though I wasn't a fan of that particular movie, I admired Rodriguez's economic ingenuity / boundless creativity in bringing his low budget crowd pleaser to fruition. 'Desperado' (1995) on the other hand, was much better; with an iconic performance by Antonio Banderas as Mariachi (though original star Carlos Gallardo made an appearance in his guitar gang), the mainstream debut of Salma Hayek and some hyper kinetic, John Woo-esque gunplay, the film was big on action & one-liners but slight on story and depth. 'Once Upon A Time In Mexico' (2003) has it all; the perfect blend of action, character, story & spectacle, though its' hard to believe its' been well over a decade since Mariachi first picked up his guitar-case-full-of-guns and began an ultra-violent vendetta to avenge the death of his true love. For in that time, Robert Rodriguez has honed his everyman appeal to a tee, helmed at least one cult classic ('From Dusk Till Dawn') directed pal Quentin Tarantino's acting scenes in 'Pulp Fiction' shown an earnest desire to explode pretentious movie myths and an admirable brass tacks approach to filmmaking that he's willing to share with all who'll listen (his '10 Minute Film School' is must for any aspiring auteur).
Rodriguez has turned directing, often considered to be one of the industry's most stressful jobs, into both a profession and a pastime; playing by his own rules whilst editing and scoring movies in his own home (watch the behind-the-scenes extras for details) Bob Rodriguez is now a brand unto himself. Here, the young Mexican shoots his best script to date: 'Once Upon A Time In Mexico' sees El Mariachi (super cool Antonio Banderas) forced out of grief stricken exile (his wife and child were murdered by the General whose now in league with a nefarious drugs cartel attempting to facilitate a military coup d'état) by corrupt CIA man agent Sands (an excellent Johnny Depp), who stokes his dormant desire for revenge whilst playing both sides. With an all star cast, 'Once Upon A Time In Mexico' is a unique film in terms of being an endgame par excellence; the only franchise in recent memory that's actually improved with each sequel (though you needn't have seen either to appreciate this). Johnny Depp is a marvel as agent Sands; trying as he does to destabilise Mexico City's political landscape armed with an array of dodgy disguises, an unreliable fake arm, his mobile phone and an arsenal of automatic weapons (stand out scenes include Sand's silently mouthing "yes I would" in his meeting with Rodriguez regular Cheech Marin, 'complimenting' some chef, dismissing that bubblegum selling kid, cursing the church bells and doing his Marlon Brando impression in a confessional). Robert's cousin, scarily moustached badass and "Mexi-CAN" Danny Trejo returns along with Ruben Blades, Mickey Rourke and Salma Hayek (Hayek fans be warned: it's just a cameo stretched over four short, though narratively important, scenes). Antonio Banderas and Willem Dafoe (blackened up and putting on an impressive, albeit almost comedic, Mexican accent in a somewhat dubious throwback to less enlightened times) tear up the screen with some serious scenery chewing (and shooting) whilst Depp tires his hand at being a Sergio Leone-esque anti-hero. Banderas does his on screen legend proud, for though he doesn't have that many lines, Antonio acts with his eyes and, in true pistolero tradition, lets his guns do the talking: we're rooting for him all the way, and may even be inclined to stand up and shout: 'God Bless Mexico' come the patriotic ending and his character's unexpectedly insightful answer to a question posed in recurring flashbacks. Eva Mendes also puts in a revelatory performance as Agent Aljedrez, deadly & desirable; Mendes pulls off authoritarian chic with ease and deserves more screen time; I"d love to see her play similar roles and not relegated to the doldrums of nondescript comic book fare or random romantic comedies. Mariachi's gang is always worth looking out for; this time our hero brings Enrique Iglesias (not as terrible an actor as you might think) and mini-Banderas Marco Leonardi (star of 'From Dusk Till Dawn 3: 'The Hangman's Daughter'') into the fray, both put in decent performances in spite, or perhaps because of, dialogue limited to jocoserious, but naturalistic, banter. 'Once Upon A Time In Mexico' is a consistently entertaining, fast paced and well acted political action movie with scenes rendered in crisp, bright colours on HD-DV cameras (surely the future of filmmaking). A top soundtrack (kudus to Salma Hayek's surprisingly good rendition of 'Siente Mi Amor' and Patricia Vonne's excellent 'Traeme Paz'), fluid action sequences and great cinematography which brings a largely unseen side of Mexico to the screen with stunning effect. With endless repeat viewing potential, this is a movie I've seen at least once a year since 2003 and it's a blast everytime, so don't be a "Mexi-CAN'T" be a "Mexi-CAN" and see it now. Maravilloso!
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Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play. Hitman "El Mariachi" becomes involved in international espionage involving a psychotic CIA agent and a corrupt Mexican general.
Another sprawling South American action-adventure from Mexican director Roberto Rodriguez. Rogue CIA agent Sands (Johnny Depp) finds himself having to recruit the services of the legendary vigilante El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas) in order to prevent an assassination attempt on the Mexican president. Although Mariachi has been in hiding since the death of his lover (Salma Hayek), Sands manages to persuade him to help as they will be fighting a common enemy: General Marquez (Gerardo Vigil), who is leading the assassination attempt and with whom Mariachi has a score to settle.
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