Today’s quick review: Once Upon a Time in Mexico. The vigilante El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas) comes out of retirement when Sands (Johnny Depp), an unscrupulous CIA agent, hires him to kill General Marquez (Geraldo Vigil), the man who murdered his wife Carolina (Salma Hayek). But a simple act of revenge spirals out of control when Sands tries to use him to hijack a coup orchestrated by Armando Barillo (Willem Dafoe), the head of a drug cartel.
Once Upon a Time in Mexico is a violent action movie with black comedy elements. It is the final movie in Robert Rodriguez’s Mexico trilogy and easily shows the most polish of the three. From its ideas to its pacing to its outrageous situations, Once Upon a Time in Mexico is a culmination of the shift begun in the transition from El Mariachi to Desperado. The end result is a twisted gem with a distinctive style and plenty of raw entertainment.
The most visible addition to the series is Johnny Depp as Sands, a quirky, murderous CIA agent with a plan to turn an attempted military coup to his own advantage. Sand’s plans tie together the film’s sprawling plot, while Depp’s bizarre yet charismatic performance sets the tone for the entire film. Much like Once Upon a Time in Mexico as a whole, Sands brings to the table a combination of high-stakes intrigue and ridiculous black humor.
With the movie’s linchpin in place, everything else fits together with surprising precision. Antonio Banderas reprises his role as El Mariachi, whose character has been pared down to the essentials: a gun-slinging hero with sympathetic motives. The supporting cast hits the same sweet spot: vivid characters who are significant but aren’t bogged down with details. The familiar faces include Danny Trejo, Mickey Rourke, Eva Mendes, and Cheech Marin.
The same goes for the action. The stunts are anything but realistic, but they are creative, polished, and strung together well. The action has a nice blend of tension and absurdity, making it hard to predict and delivering a series of fun surprises for those who appreciate Rodriguez’s twisted sense of humor. The plot is similarly ambitious and similarly polished, a sprawling web of schemes and counter-schemes that somehow tie together in the end.
Once Upon a Time in Mexico is an excellent pick for fans of offbeat action, madcap situations, and films with a strong directorial vision. Once Upon a Time in Mexico will not be for everyone. Even those who don’t mind its grey morality, nonlinear plot, and relatively high amounts of gore may not appreciate the exaggerated direction it takes the series. But for a viewer whose tastes line up the right way, it’s an energetic and original watch.
For violent action and dark humor in the same vein, but with a greater focus on story and cinematography, try Quentin Tarantino’s movies. For an even more stylized, gory action movie from the same director, try Sin City. For a crime comedy that manages a similarly tangled plot with even more skill, try Snatch or Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. For a grittier, more dramatic cartel power struggle set in Mexico, try Sicario.
6.4 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.0 to 7.5 for hit-or-miss energy and style.