In the third installment of a trilogy that started with 1992's "El Mariachi" and continued with 1995's "Desperado," director Robert Rodriguez is back with his latest film "Once Upon a Time in Mexico." The finale to the "El Mariachi" trilogy delivers very little romance and an excessive amount of killing.
El Mariachi, played by Antonio Banderas, is living a peaceful life in a small Mexican town before he is recruited to save the life of the Mexican president. A mafia-like family in Mexico, the Barillos, buys a lot of land and gives it to the poor citizens of Mexico in order to gain their support. Their plan is to take over the government.
CIA Agent Sands, played by Johnny Depp, needs talented gunman El Mariachi to help him stop this catastrophe from taking place. With a chance to save his country and its people, El Mariachi is forced to risk his life for this heroic cause.
Though he is experienced with firearms and accustomed to seeing blood shed by result of his own hands, El Mariachi often retains an elegant persona. He peacefully strums his acoustic guitar at many points throughout the film, often thinking back to the time when his beautiful wife and daughter were still alive. These short breaks bring brief flashbacks into the storyline, where El Mariachi remembers the romance he had with his breathtaking wife, played by Salma Hayek.
The romantic flashbacks are a feature that have very little to do with the storyline, and are the only points in which the movie does not consist entirely of bloody violence and unnecessary murder. There are a few battle scenes that are slightly far-fetched and too unlikely. Too many times El Mariachi is faced with five or more gunmen and manages to kill each one. All of their intended shots magically come nowhere close to striking him.
Pointless shootings are overused throughout the film as well. In one scene, Agent Sands is eating at a restaurant, thoroughly enjoying his food. In his overwhelming need to show gratification, he decides to thank the cook by shooting him in the face. There is a great deal of murder, but only a small amount of justification.
Something to keep in mind when watching one of Rodriguez's films is that he not only directs, but also acts as the producer, and handles most of the special effects and stunts. With an excessive amount of action that is unrealistic in nature, Rodriguez went too far with the use of cords in many of the action scenes.
A technique made popular by actor Jackie Chan, many directors will use a cord or cords to increase the intensity of an actor's fall or drop. For example, if an actor is shot in the chest, a cord is connected to a harness on his back. When the actor is shot, he jumps and the cord pulls him back while he is in mid-air to make for a more dramatic death. In many cases Rodriguez uses the cords to an unrealistic extent, and actors are blown across the room by a single bullet, breaking many laws of physics.
Though many of the fight scenes are difficult to believe, and bloody murder is quite frequent, "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" is overall enjoyable because of strong acting and good onscreen chemistry. Banderas and Depp do a great job holding the viewer's attention during the movie, even when the scenes are beyond the realm of reality. In the end, "Once Upon A Time In Mexico" is a fine example of talented actors overcoming poor screenplay.
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
