Movie review: Machete
"You've justwith the wrong Mexican"
Year: 2010
Directed by Robert Rodriguez
Starring: Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, Robert de Niro, Steven Seagal, Jessica Alba, Jeff Fahey, Don Johnson, Lindsay Lohan, Cheech Martin.
In 2007 Robert Rodriguez, acclaimed director and leading exponent of the Mexploitation genre, released a couple of fake trailers along with his latest picture, Grindhouse, in collaboration with Quentin Tarantino. One of them was Machete, the tale of a rugged illegal immigrant and former member of the Mexican Federal Police who is hired as a hitman in order to eliminate a major political figure. The job proves to be a set up, turning Machete into a fugitive, his sole purpose being to get his revenge against his former employers. The concept of a highly trained assassin on a vengeance mission, wielding a machete as the weapon of choice, was proven to be popular.
Three years later, Danny Trejo reprises his role in this full version, along with some other recurring figures. Though extended, the story remains the same, introducing new characters and themes such as illegal immigration, US policies and general attitude towards them. Since we're talking about Rodriguez and his penchant for exploitation movies, the viewers are well aware of what to expect from this action flick, packed with over-the-top violence, nudity, gore and a dose of absurdity. I really need to mention the body count after five minutes into the movie: 13. Thirteen people meet a quick and violent death just before the opening sequence, most of them at the hand of Machete. Yet, the blood(y) aspect remains somewhat under control, which is fine with me since the screen doesn't turn red instantly iafter each kill.
Machete is a parody of a whole B-movie genre from the '70s mixed with contemporary atmosphere and feeling. There are tons of guns and melee weapons, quirky humor, corny dialogue, (lots of) people dying in ridiculous or unusual ways and last but not least racism. Machete is packaged as a mindless action movie, created with this purpose and should not be taken seriously at all despite some issues mentioned above. As his buddy Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez demonstrates once again that such an apparently shallow genre can be highly entertaining with the right production values. Machete is but the latest chapter in Rodriguez's violent spoof saga.
Cast. A long time favourite of Robert Rodriguez, Danny Trejo apparently gets his first leading role with this picture, having almost 200 acting credits (Heat, Con Air, From Dusk Till Dawn, Predators, etc). This heavily tattoed and scarred faced man is one of the busiest and underrated actors in the industry, playing mostly assassins, convicts and other villains, since he's practically the real deal, a reformed criminal. Trejo delivers once again in this movie, doing what he knows best. It seems that age isn't an issue at all for this man, considering the fact he's 66(!).
Michelle Rodriguez has a decent screen appearance, unlike Jessica Alba who in my opinion is miscast. Lindsay Lohan's presence is unjustified, she's overrated.
Robert de Niro as senator McLaughlin (McCain spoof?) is great, distributed as supporting character and providing some comic reliefs.
Jeff Fahey, a longtime B-list actor, returns as a credible villain. He is one of the actors who appeared in the fake trailer.
Steven Seagal's performance is wooden as usual. Imagine him talking with a Hispanic accent and you'll get the picture. His acting is bad even for a parody film.
It's nice to see Don Johnson starring in a major release even though in a small role. The reason I'm mentioning Cheech Martin is because of the church showdown.
Pros: solid action scenes, Danny Trejo as main character, funny dialogues and situations. The movie is great, everything you would expect coming from Robert Rodriguez.
Cons: none, other that some actors are miscast, without ruining the overall quality whatsoever.
9/10
Originally Posted by vizi
