The opening credits for this movie say that it was written, directed, produced, scored, filmed, and "chopped" (edited) by Robert Rodriguez, a renaissance man if there ever was one. This guy can do everything there is to possibly do in a film, aside from acting. And boy, this doesn't come off as a crap piece either. This flick is brimming with cool scenes and dialogue throughout the entire flick, making it one of the most welcome additions to the theaters.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO is the third film in Roriguez's "El Mariachi" trilogy. Actually, it's the fourth film in the series, with the third one being presented in flashbacks. It's actually not a bad plot device, revealing El's motives throughout the film and not just with one expostion scene. This time around, El (Banderas) is hired by a corrupt CIA agent named Sands (Depp) to kill a man who is going to attempt to assassinate the president of Mexico, but not before he really DOES kill him. See, Sands wants to collect twenty million dollars of drug money captured by the president. And believe me, double-crosses and hijinks comes in dozens along the way.
The movie is filled with plot, something that is uncommon in a mindless action movie such as this. The acting is all top-notch, including Banderas, Dafoe, and Rourke, who puts in a surprisingly good performance. But the best of this bunch is Johnny Depp, who is all of a sudden becoming a hot item amongst the Hollywood brass. His characters, Sands, is full of one-liners, cool actions, and a really sweet belt. He also has one of the coolest scenes in the movie, a blind gunfight. You'll know what I mean when you see it.
Banderas, although the main character in the film, and little to do, which may be my only negative about the film, aside from the fact that Salma Hayek is seen only in flashbacks, thats a darn shame. But Depp more than makes up for any faults found in this movie for his more than cool performance.
In closing, ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO is an abnormally smart action flick with some great directing, cool scenes, and a superb performance by Depp. Go check it out and give it some money that it deserves.
P.S.: Kudos to Mickey Rourke, who, after becoming a walking punchline, does a really good job here. WAY TO GO MAN. |
