Once Upon a Time in Mexico

Release Date: September 12, 2003
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Screenwriter: Robert Rodriguez
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp, Willem Dafoe, Rubén Blades, Eva Mendes, Mickey Rourke, Danny Trejo, Gerardo Vigil, Enrique Iglesias, Cheech Marin, Marco Leonardi
Genre: Action, Adventure
MPAA Rating: R (for strong violence, and for language)
Official Website: SonyPictures.com

Plot Summary: The saga of the mythic guitar-slinging hero, El Mariachi (Banderas), continues in Robert Rodriguez's bold, non-stop action epic "Once Upon a Time in Mexico". The new adventure is set against a backdrop of revolution and greed. Haunted and scarred by loss, El Mariachi has retreated into a life of isolation. He is forced out of hiding by Sands (Depp), a corrupt CIA agent. Sands recruits the reclusive hero to sabotage a plot by the evil cartel kingpin Barillo (Dafoe), who is planning to assassinate the president of Mexico. El Mariachi has his own reasons for returning - retribution and revenge. Now, together with his capable cohorts Lorenzo (Iglesias) and Fideo (Leonardi) the legend of El Mariachi attains new levels of excitement.

Review By: Mike Thompson
- Better than a cheese royale: buy one while its hot

I may have had way too high of expectations for this movie, but I was truthfully a little disappointed.

Don’t get me wrong, Once Upon a Time in Mexico is an excellent movie. Probably the best in the whole trilogy, if your only into plot and wonderful acting. Which I am very much, but after seeing El Mariachi ‘s and Desperado’s plot and acting, it was not what I was looking forward to.

When you hear the title of the movie Desperado , you think: gunfights, knife throwing, and lots and lots of action! That is what I was expecting for this film as well. But it fell short there.

Once Upon a Time in Mexico starts the same way that Desperado does, with the legends about The (el) mariachi being told in a bar. But this time, it’s a CIA agent (Johnny Depp) looking for the mariachi. The mariachi (Antonia Banderas) is living in a small village, still mourning the death of his love (now Salma Hayek). It then goes on into the hiring of Banderas for an assassination of a man who, of course, killed Hayek in the past. The film follows, equally, Banderas and Depp throughout the whole movie, which was different but I kind of liked it.

Hayek, though very high up on the casting list, was barely even in the movie. There was one, quite impressive, scene of her and Banderas escaping some people trying to kill them. But that was just about all that we saw of her, other than a few flash backs.

All in all, I think director/screenwriter/producer Robert Rodriguez has made himself quite a legend with the trilogy he has made. I will definitely always remember the films and their cult-classic action. Though the latest lacked a bit, I still recommend it.

DVD Extras

El Mariachi Trailer  Windows Media  High  Low

Desperado Trailer  Windows Media  High  Low
 
Featurette- Ten Minute Cooking School

Robert Rodriguez gives away the recipe to the special sauce that makes
you loco

Windows Media  High  Low  RealPlayer  High  Low

Featurette- Ten Minute Flick School
Windows Media  High  Low  RealPlayer  High  Low

Featurette- The Anti-Hero's Journey
Windows Media  High  Low  Realplayer  High  Low

Featurette- The Anti-Hero's Journey
Windows Media  High  Low  Realplayer  High  Low

Official site
http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/onceuponatimeinmexico/index.html