In 1992, Robert Rodriguez made a name for himself. For a mere $7000 (half of which Rodriguez earned by being a guinea pig for experimental drug studies), he made a feature film, his first. To top it off, that feature film was good. REALLY good. If you haven't seen "El Mariachi," do yourself a favor, and go see it now. As you might expect with a film that cost only $7000 to make, it has some flaws. Still, the good far outweighs the bad, and it's a very entertaining movie. "El Mariachi" was Rodriguez's last independent film, but to this day, studios like him because he consistently makes profitable movies at a relatively low budget, without LOOKING that way.
After "El Mariachi," Robert Rodriguez made "Desperado," which some say is a remake and others say is a sequel to "El Mariachi." I happen to think it's a sequel, because it's too different from "El Mariachi" to be a remake. However, there are certain inconsistencies that make it difficult to say that it's a definite sequel. The most glaring example I can think of has to do with the main character's arm. What happens to the title character's arm at the end of "El Mariachi" doesn't fit with what his arm looks like in "Desperado" (I don't wanna say more than that in case you haven't seen the movies yet). Still, I think it's a lot closer to being a sequel than a remake, and Robert Rodriguez calls it a sequel, so that's what I'm sticking with.
I like "El Mariachi" a lot. It's a high-energy movie that was made by a guy who took obvious glee in making his first feature film. I like "Desperado," but not as much as "El Mariachi." It seemed like Rodriguez had to reel in some of the things that made "El Mariachi" such a fun movie. Still, "Desperado" is an entertaining film, and it has a great Salma Hayek nude scene. Now we get "Once Upon a Time in Mexico," which completes the trilogy. Though I liked some of what was in "Once Upon a Time in Mexico," I must admit to feeling disappointed by it. The overall story didn't grab me, and I couldn't get into it. However, there are some things about it I like, including comic book-type stuff that I enjoyed quite a bit.
"Once Upon a Time in Mexico" is way over the top, far-fetched, and silly. It has a lot of corny lines ("Are you a Mexi-can or a Mexi-can't?"), and a cheesiness that borders on unforgivable. But none of these things bothered me. That's the style of the film, and I welcomed it. The problem was that the story did nothing for me. Yeah, there are some great things in the movie, but if the story doesn't hook me, it can all get old really fast.
Aside from the "Mariachi" movies, Robert Rodriguez wrote and directed "Spy Kids," as well as its sequels. He also directed "From Dusk Till Dawn" (which was written by his friend Quentin Tarantino) and "The Faculty" (written by Kevin Williamson). Though some may disagree, I think Rodriguez's best work was in "El Mariachi." He's yet to make a movie I totally disliked, but he has yet to match the greatness of his feature film debut. I was hoping that "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" would be the film to do that, but unfortunately, that's not the case. Still, I give a lotta credit to Rodriguez who busts his ass when making a movie, not limiting himself to writing and directing. In the case of this film, he wrote, directed, produced, edited, did the cinematography, and wrote the score. I'm sure he did even more than that. The only film where he did more was "El Mariachi," in which he was pretty much the entire crew.
The film stars Antonio Banderas, playing the same role he played in "Desperado" (he also starred in the three "Spy Kids" films). He's good in the role, but in this film, he's overshadowed by Johnny Depp. Hot on the heels of his excellent performance in "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," Depp once again plays a quirky supporting character who takes over the film. The problem is that in this film, it's unclear whether he's a good guy or a bad guy. Early on, it seems like he's a bad guy, but he's too damn likable to be a straight up villain. Johnny Depp, as usual, kicks ass. I've been a fan of Johnny Depp for years (mostly because of his roles in Tim Burton movies, like "Edward Scissorhands," "Ed Wood," and "Sleepy Hollow"), and it's good to see that finally, the rest of the world is taking notice. Though he hasn't signed on the dotted line yet, he's probably gonna play "Willy Wonka" in Tim Burton's take on the book "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (it's being stressed that the film is not a remake of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," though that film is based on the same book). I think Johnny Depp is a perfect choice, and I look forward to seeing him work with Tim Burton again.
Salma Hayek is in the film, but she isn't in the film nearly as long as I would like. Supposedly, "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" was actually shot a while ago, and at the time, Salma Hayek was working on "Frida." Because of her work on that film, her role in "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" had to be reduced. Whether that's true or not, I have no idea. Anyway, although she's in the film briefly, I really enjoyed her scenes, and not just because she's sexy.
Also in the film are Mickey Rourke (who is often typecast, but has mastered the kind of role he plays here), Eva Mendes (she was in "Training Day" and "2 Fast 2 Furious"), Rubén Blades, Enrique Iglesias (I have no idea why the hell he's in this movie, but it's interesting to note that Mickey Rourke was in one of his music videos... I think it's the one with Jennifer Love Hewitt), Willem Dafoe (great actor... he was "The Green Goblin" in "Spider-Man"), and a couple of regulars in Robert Rodriguez movies, Danny Trejo and Cheech Marin.
I need to mention the look of the movie, because it's amazing. You can see the pores on the faces of the actors, and the images on the screen are perfectly crisp. The reason is because Robert Rodriguez shot with the high-definition 24 fps digital cameras that George Lucas used for "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones." Robert Rodriguez decided to make this film his personal test to push the limits of the cameras. As it turned out, the cameras stood up to all the challenges thrown at them, even when Rodriguez experimented with various lenses, filters and frame speeds. Based on what I saw on the screen, the cameras truly did pass with flying colors, especially since the cameras did all that while still maintaining the warm look of film. It didn't have the cold look of video, ya know?
Yes, I was disappointed with "Once Upon a Time in Mexico," but it has its bright spots. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I were to have a change of heart after watching it a second or third time, and I WILL watch it a second and a third time.
Scale of 1-10: 6