Machete Kills is...well, what did you expect it would be? Is it good? Depends what you mean by good, but, in the strictest sense, not really. It's a lot of fun. It's stupid, it's bombastic, it's dumb, its outrageous, it's funny, it's bloody, it's ridiculous, it's racist, it's idiotic, it's full of attitude, and it's an experience to behold. It's all these things and more.
If you took the plots of Che, Moonraker, and Superfly and threw them in a pot, stirred them up and cooked that stew for hours, Machete Kills would be the result. It picks up not long after where Machete left off. Machete (played again at his snarling best by Danny Trejo), is busting up some bad guy ring or another with his girlfriend (Jessica Alba), the ICE agent who taught him there's more things important than the law, and that's justice. They are breaking up a weapons smuggling ring by the US Army to some bad guy or another. More bad guys show up, a gunfight ensues and Alba is shot dead by a mysterious masked man. Then other guys show up and kill the bad guys and take Machete prisoner. Turns out they work for the President (played by newcomer Carlos Estevez-or really Charlie Sheen-for those of you who don't know, this is Charlie Sheen's real name). He says there is a killer in Mexico that has a missile of some sort that can destroy Washington. He sends him on a mission to kill this man. On the way, Machete is being pursued by a viscous bounty hunter, El Chameleón (played by Walton Goggins, Cuba Gooding Jr, Lady Gaga, and Antonio Banderes-don't ask). Then Machete goes to Mexico and.,,I sort of lost track of the plot by this point, but it doesn't really matter. None of it really does, you just move from one scene to the next and go with it.
I don't really know why, but the writer and director Robert Rodriguez seems intent on being the Steven Spielberg of Ed Wood movies. He is an auteur of sorts, writing and directing most of his movies as well as editing them, scoring them and acts as his own DP at times. He has directed El Mariachi, Desperado, Once Upon A Time In Mexico, From Dusk Til Dawn, Sin City, Planet Terror, Machete, and now Machete Kills. With the possible exception of the first, every single one of them are bad, pulpy mounds of crap. But the sad fact is, Rodriguez is a director of no small talent and capability and makes exciting films. There are several working directors today who don't have anywhere near his considerable abilities and yet Rodriguez continues to make such drivel. His films are kinetic, exciting, and he works with some of the best talent Hollywood has to offer. Just consider some of the names he has worked with in the past: Bruce Willis, Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp, Jessica Alba, George Clooney, Maria Vergara, Harvey Keitel, Michelle Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino, Eva Mendez, Clive Owen, Fergie, Willem Dafoe, Rosario Dawson, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, Cheech Marin, Mickey Rourke. The films are fun, yes, but I see so much more in him. He could be great, make something great. It is almost as if he is determined to make the the best made but dumbest movies ever to be projected on the silver screen. I don't know if he is pulling a fast one or not, but he has yet to make something good. I have loved most of the films he has made, but I long for a good one. Maybe A Dame To Kill For, the sequel to Sin City, will be better. We will have to wait and see. Until then, we may have to comfort ourselves in the upcoming Machete Kills In Space (don't ask on that one either.)
No comments:
Post a Comment