Review: Once Upon a Time in Mexico

Antonio Banderas is back as El Mariachi, out for revenge against the General who killed his beloved (Salma Hayek, in flashbacks). He is hired by oddball CIA agent Sands (Johnny Depp) to assassinate the General, thus stopping a coup set up by drug lord Barillo (Willem Dafoe, with a bad tan), who has orchestrated the assassination of the President (Pedro Armendariz Jr). Ruben Blades plays a retired FBI agent on Barillo’s tail, Mickey Rourke plays a Chihuahua-loving, American hood in the employ of Barillo, and Eva Mendes is a Mexican FBI agent trying to make her mark in a world of machismo. Smaller turns are provided by Enrique Iglesias as one of El Mariachi’s allies, Cheech Marin plays the same bartender he essayed in “Desperado”, and Danny Trejo turns up briefly in a role that may or may not be the character he played (and who died) in the aforementioned “Desperado”.

 

I was not terribly interested in the first two films in Robert Rodriguez’s “El Mariachi” trilogy, those being “El Mariachi” and the rather silly “Desperado”. However, I’m fully on board with this conclusion, which as the Leone-esque title suggests, is the most epic and ambitious of the three by far, and the most entertaining. Hell, despite finding the weaponry in “Desperado” stupid, I fully embraced the guitar machine gun in this one. I mean, it’s like El Mariachi heard Hendrix emulating gunfire with his guitar at Woodstock and decided he could go one better (Enrique Iglesias’ guitar case flame thrower is also too gloriously ridiculous not to forgive).

 

One thing that is definitely improved over “Desperado” is that Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek are far more comfortable than they were in that film. Banderas oozes sweaty, Spanish machismo and is completely persuasive in the part. He gets one particularly cool moment sliding down a flight of stairs. Hayek’s performance, although the role is lesser, is definitely an improvement, and Banderas seems to have gotten the hang of the English language by now (something he struggled with a bit early on and worked hard to improve) and wears his character like a suit. Which is a good thing given the role isn’t exactly afforded a whole lot of depth, perhaps due to the large array of other characters fighting for screen time. The most enjoyable of these is easily the scene-stealing Johnny Depp, who is clearly having fun indulging his eccentric self shamelessly, and this is one of the occasions where the audience will enjoy the weirdness too (Unlike say, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”). Depp is simultaneously oddball and unspeakably hip, and the prosthetic arm is the icing on the cake. I don’t know whether it was Rodriguez or Depp himself, but whoever came up with the line ‘Are you a Mexi-can or a Mexi-can’t?’ deserves a pat on the back. Edward Norton’s Brando impersonation in “The Kingdom of Heaven” was pretty good, but anyone who doesn’t laugh at Depp’s hilarious Brando impersonation is...too young to get it, I guess. Also hilarious is he and Danny Trejo rigging a bull-fight, which has to be seen to be believed.

 

The supporting cast is pretty interesting, with a great small role for Ruben Blades, and I suppose singer/heartthrob Enrique Iglesias is well-cast too (in a kind of Ricky Nelson/James Darren role). Mickey Rourke was in the midst of his comeback here (started with “The Rainmaker”), and whatever you might think of his talents, he’s well-used here. Danny Trejo’s badass presence is welcome for a few scenes, and the existence of Eva Mendes in this film is entirely justified by one of the all-time greatest camera shots as we see her shot from below in a tight black shirt. You just have to see it, it’s glorious. Willem Dafoe was definitely cast for his cold, dead eyes, as an homage to Henry Fonda in “Once Upon a Time in the West” (The whole film seems like Rodriguez’s tribute to that masterpiece). The gag doesn’t really work, though, because Dafoe is ludicrously cast as a Mexican, and his casting as a villain isn’t a surprise like it was with Fonda.

 

Although the complex plotting and overabundance of characters are a definite drawback, at least the plot and characters are more interesting than in either of the previous films. I do think it results in the Banderas character taking a slightly less important role for great stretches of the film, though (It’s like he has the Charles Bronson role in “Once Upon a Time in the West”, though I can’t really say Depp has the Jason Robards role). The music, as is usually the case with Rodriguez (who composed it), is a star in its own right. The blazing guitar in Trejo’s first scene is reminiscent of Morricone’s work for Henry Fonda’s first scene in “Once Upon a Time in the West”, and “Kill Bill vol. 2” fans should pay close attention to the song Mariachi plays for the President. It’s awfully familiar.

 

This isn’t high art, but it’s certainly more epic and ambitious than anything writer/director/cinematographer/composer/editor Rodriguez had previously attempted. I don’t know why this doesn’t have a better reputation, because it’s got a lot to like about it. Admittedly it has too much of everything, but still, I had fun with it, especially whenever Depp was on screen. Rodriguez is an uneven filmmaker, but when he’s on, he sure makes terrific screen entertainments.

 

Rating: B-