Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)

just watch it!

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

In the third movie of Rodriguez's "Mariachi" trilogy, a Mexican drug lord pretends to overthrow the Mexican government, and is connected to a corrupt CIA agent who at that time, demands retribution from his worst enemy to carry out the drug lord's uprising against the government

An action adventure blast featuring some really funny moments and characters. This is by no means a film meant to be taken seriously. Watching the trilogy in chronological order is very fun because you go from something so independent and low-budget to this over the top fast paced "Rodriguez"- flick (as the opening titles suggest). It never really slows down which works in this movies favor. It's quiet interesting to see the development of the Mariachi character who started out in such a simple way now becoming an icon and hero figure.The plot to this movie is ridiculous and the villain played by Willem Dafoe's plan is to take down Mexico's President. But, because of this film's tone you don't mind the ridiculousness. You can have fun with it and just enjoy the ride. It's my favorite of the Mexico-trilogy because of how entertaining it was. There are some very beautiful shots of the cities and landscapes and the music was well scored, and you can even tell by how the camera moves how fun the filmmakers had making this.Johnny Depp's character gets the best story arc and how his story turns out by the third act was unexpected. Salma Hayek wasn't in this one that much and her character was reduced to a few flashbacks, which is a shame since her character's absence makes the Mariachi an even more tragic figure who just always seems to lose the ones he cares for. Sometimes it seems like he can dodge bullets too easily though, there should have been some more danger put into the action. The heroes in this film win too easily. But, the best action scene by far is the motorcycle chase, that was great. The quick editing and the timing is in well place in that scene.There are some semi-serious moments which are nice, but the film would have needed some better balance in some moments. The tone changes quickly sometimes which could be jarring for some and take away from the enjoyment. It took a little moment at the beginning to get what the aim was. But, once you grasp what the film is going for, then it really works.So, the action as a little lacking this time around, but everything else just never slows down that it made the film flow by in a good way. If you are gonna watch this film then try not to take it too seriously and you should preferably put it on during a rainy day.

The last chapter of Robert Rodriguez's Mariachi trilogy has poor connections to the previous films, but has arguably the best storyline. This has everything that makes a movie enjoyable and ownable.In the most complex premise of the series, General Marquez has been hired by the Barillio Cartel drug family to assassinate the Mexican government. Crooked CIA Agent Sands (Depp) hires El Mariachi (Banderas) and retired FBI agent (Blades) to make sure Marquez and Barillio don't consume power. We get an insight with El's relationship to the bad guys: Carolina (Hayak) was Marquez's girl and she put a bullet through his heart, but he survived. He shoots her, her daughter and El, with El surviving. Two reasons why this doesn't work: first, our central character seek vengeance for the death of his loved one again, rehashing Desperado's storyline. The next reason this doesn't work is Marquez: where does he fit? In Desperado, Carolina is a young woman who works under drug lord Bucho and is one of his groupies. Did she know Marquez before Bucho? Carolina's death takes place several years after Desperado and the movie itself takes place a few years after that. Given the time frame and Carolina's relationship with Marquez and Bucho in both movies, it is hard to tell how it all fits. A similar problem was encountered in Desperado with El avenging Domino's death by trying to kill Bucho, who had nothing to do with her death. Anyway, throughout the movie characters are introduced and swerves happen all over the place in all subplots. There's too many to keep track of and they become confusing. I had to watch this movie a few times before fully understanding it. In a way, complexity like this is good. Many people criticized this for all the swerves and subplots, but I thought it was great. El isn't pushed down to a minor role like people say, other subplots just build later on in the film. Aside from the story, the acting by all is good. Johnny Depp steals the show, giving one of his best performances ever. He plays a charismatic CIA agent who plays by his own rules. He is totally awesome. I think they should have given him his own spin off. This was before he started playing the same dumb characters in Tim Burton movies. Depp is best known for a wide variety of odd characters, all of which are easy to play. As an actor myself, I can assure that the weirder and funnier and character is, the easier it is to play. When Depp plays Sands, he is a realistic foul-mouthed smart-alec. The more realistic a character is, the harder it is to play. Ironic.Another bit of criticism I'd give is the action. All three movies are best-known for having heavy violence, but this seems to take a back seat to Desperado. Desperado had phenomenal shootouts. This also has great action, but it lacked in the same raw and artistic action that Desperado had. it did not lose its edge, it just softened a bit. This rules!

It's the third of Robert Rodriguez's "El Mariachi" trilogy. Belini (Cheech Marin) tells the story of El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas) and Carolina (Salma Hayek) who took on general Marquez. Sands (Johnny Depp) carefully listens and pays him $10k. Cucuy (Danny Trejo) takes El Mariachi prisoner. CIA agent Sands (Johnny Depp) tells him to kill Marquez being paid by Barillo (Willem Dafoe) after he kills the president. Ajedrez (Eva Mendes) is an agent tasked to protect the president.It's violent, convoluted, and fitting end to the trilogy. It's stylized shoot-em-up more than any substance. Johnny Depp is dipping into his craziness and has some crazy lines. It feels too random and too chaotic. Instead of staying with El Mariachi, the movie treats him as a mysterious unknowable character. It spends too much time with everybody else. The motives are confused and the story is too complicated. It keeps flashing back and forth. At times, it's hard to tell who he's fighting and why but nobody really cares as long as lots of stuff get blown up.