| ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO |
 2003 - Mexico / USADirector: Robert Rodriguez -Reviewed by Vickie
I had no idea he was in this most recent installment of writer-director Robert Rodriguez’s Mariachi trilogy, yet there he is. Right there! Onscreen and everything. Perpetually toting one of his anemic little chihuahuas for, one assumes, dramatic effect, and looking as strangely bumpy and greasy as ever. Ick. Rourke aside, Once Upon a Time in Mexico continues the misadventures of everyone’s favorite guitar-wielding Mexican outlaw, known only as El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas). This time around, a bitter and vengeful El (as he’s affectionately known) is tapped by a shifty CIA agent (Johnny Depp) to thwart a planned coup d’état by El’s nemesis, Marquez (Gerardo Vigil). Also in the mix is a ruthless crime lord (Willem Dafoe) eager to seize control of the area, an FBI agent (Rubén Blades) looking to make a big bust and Enrique Iglesias (!) as one of El’s old pals, who’s tapped to help out with his mission. Thing is, everyone’s playing both sides of the field, so it’s hard to tell who’s lying to whom and about what. Oh yeah, and Mickey Rourke plays a lackey who, it seems, is willing to play for whichever teams offers the biggest payout. Ditto his chihuahua, whose purpose and presence is never really explained. (You know, I half imagine Rourke showing up on set with the petite pooch in tow and grumbling to Rodriguez, "You know, Rob, I have this terrific idea for my character...he carries a girlie dog around like a doll.") Fast-paced and with a great comedic undertone, Mexico zips along at a nice clip, combining explosive shootouts with frenetic chase sequences and some clever stunt work. Everyone maintains a sense of humor throughout the dusty proceedings, right down to Rodriguez’s cheeky opening credits sequence. Although he gets top billing and nails his part, Antonio Banderas doesn’t really own the picture. That honor goes to Depp, who easily steals every scene he’s in and presents what will become one of cinema’s most memorable federal agents. Expertly walking the line between comedy and camp, Depp presents a hilariously blasé guy whose been-there-done-that attitude leaves him phased by absolutely nothing, including his own gruesome torture. Anyone hopeful for some stellar work by Salma Hayek or Eva Mendes, the film’s sole female characters, will be disappointed, though. Hayek gets a few more minutes of screentime than Mendes, but both actresses are, unfortunately, stuck in barely there roles that are kind of like the sprinkles on the sundae created by the rest of the male cast. And, I mean, sprinkles are fine, but there’s not much substance to them, you know? Too bad. I have to admit that I have seen neither El Mariachi nor its follow-up, Desperado, but that didn’t stop me from thoroughly enjoying this successor. I can only imagine how much more I would have liked it if I’d known the backstory. But that’s what my video store is for. |
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How does Mickey Rourke keep getting work? No really, how?
