Icky, ick, ick. It’s as violent as a Quentin Tarantino movie without the talent. And that’s not necessarily typical fare for director Robert Rodriguez, who has made some decent films in his native Mexico and north of the border, including
Icky, ick, ick. It’s as violent as a Quentin Tarantino movie
without the talent. And that’s not necessarily typical fare for
director Robert Rodriguez, who has made some decent films in his
native Mexico and north of the border, including “El Mariachi,”
“Desperado” (the sequel), “From Dusk Till Dawn” and “Sin City.”
Icky, ick, ick.
It’s as violent as a Quentin Tarantino movie without the talent.
And that’s not necessarily typical fare for director Robert Rodriguez, who has made some decent films in his native Mexico and north of the border, including “El Mariachi,” “Desperado” (the sequel), “From Dusk Till Dawn” and “Sin City.”
It’s that “Machete,” this uber-sensationalistic, brutal series of sadistic images, has no point.
At worst, it’s exploitive of women, it perpetuates negative stereotypes about Mexicans and is ridiculously, gratuitously violent for sheer violence’s sake.
Do we really need to see a woman carried naked over a man’s shoulder or feed into the racist, anti-illegal-immigrant firestorm with a plotline about a character who helps illegal aliens get jobs in the U.S.?
Men, don’t answer the first part of that question.
At best, it’s a spoof that doesn’t pull of its intention of social commentary but instead comes off as inept, lazy and just plain lame.
How did they get Robert De Niro to sign up for this?
I know, I get it. This is what “grindhouse” films are. But isn’t there a reason ‘70s-genre films and other, tacky trends were left there, in the ‘70s?
Sitting through “Machete,” especially as a woman, makes for a writhing, uncomfortable and nauseating movie experience.
I will concede that it is potentially comical with its lineup of B-list actors, (including druglord Steven Seagal, border control “Miami Vice” icon Don Johnson, hotties Lindsay Lohan, Jessica Alba and Michelle Rodriquez and LOL-“priest” Cheech Marin).
Also potentially comical are the cheesy, gimmicky catch phrases (“He knows the score. He gets the women. And he kills the bad guys,”) and the ridiculous stereotypes. The problem is it’s just not funny.
So it’s a movie that isn’t funny, isn’t scary, and is just offensive in imagery and message.
Again, the potential for something, anything, was there. The idea was to make a movie out of one of two pretend trailers that preceded the also-violent Rodriguez film “Grindhouse:” “Machete” and “Werewolf Women of the S.S.”
And it made sense. Trailers traditionally take the sexiest, loudest, fastest parts of the movie and edit them furiously together into a vignette any popcorn-eating moviegoer would be enticed to see.
However, slight problem: When said vignette goes on for more than a few minutes, it’s annoying.
There is one almost-redeeming part of this movie, however, and it is Danny Trejo as none other than “Machete” himself, a former Mexican Federale who has been royally screwed-over time and again and has made a vow of getting revenge.
Similar to plotlines from “El Mariachi” and “Desperado,” Machete’s wife was killed by a drug lord. The cherry on top for Machete is there’s a senator (from Texas, of course) who enjoys shooting illegal immigrants for the heck of it.
So Machete’s the underdog, and there is this part of you that wants him to win — which means he’s done a good job with the role.
Equally entertaining (or annoying, depending on who you ask) are the outfits some of the contrived female heroes are wearing (nurse uniforms?), as are the weapons they’re donning (shiny throwing stars and machine guns).
In summary, this movie has no substance.
If nothing else, the reason not to see this movie is to avoid contributing to the perpetuation of the desensitization of our culture and the scapegoating of illegal immigrants as the downfall of America.
A reason to see it? Sheer boredom coupled with the promise not to take it at all seriously.
