Once Upon a Time in Mexico / Desperado 2 (2003)

Once Upon a Time in Mexico / Desperado 2 (2003)

3/10

Starring

Antonio Banderas

Salma Hayek

Johnny Depp

Directed by Robert Rodriguez

Once Upon a Time in Mexico or Desperado 2 is total bull crap of a movie. Done eight years after Desperado (1995) the second movie in the Mexico Trilogy, this is the finally movie in the trilogy. This movie wasted too much time focusing on everything else. It was like El Mariachi was just a supporting cast.

This tale follows the story of El Mariachi from the first movie, through the second and to this one which is just overly stuffed with too many characters and subplots.

The running tale of him being lonely and after revenge for his girl is the same theme here. Just that this time it seems old and just over flogged.

You have to be on your toes in this movie, cause the plot is everywhere. The movie gets going with a tale, we get a glimpse that a man is obsessed with killing El Mariachi. This obsession led to the death of his woman (Salma Hayek) from the second film.

This is being told to a man (Johnny Depp) who wants to capture El Mariachi for his own dubious plan. He does get him early enough in the movie, our man is sad because of the lost of his lover, but then revitalized by the pointing to the direction where revenge lays.

Johnny Depp’s character also is dubious he wants to be in charge of everything and using everyone to his pleasure and ultimate aim. That aside we also have a gangster boss who wants to get involved in some facial reconstructive surgery to stay alive and rule.

You will this all this is all that is going on this movie, but more things and subplot keep showing up that just makes this movie cumbersome.

I have one question for Robert Rodriguez, what happened to plain and simple?

That was the mastery in the first two movies, they were plain and simple. I didn’t have to worry about a coup, or some guy doing facial reconstructive surgery, or Johnny Depp.

Then there was Eva Mendes whose sole purpose in this movie is to introduce the facial reconstructive guy and die sometime later.

Our hero has gone political people and if you think he is all madness and no heart for his country, you are wrong my friend.

Do not bother seeing this last movie in the trilogy.

The movie did make money for the studio, but the ratio of the box office returns to the production budget s very much lower than that of the previous movie Desperado (1995).