I didn't like Grindhouse. Yeah, it was a really cool project with two of the best "indie" directors in the business working together for two movies. But the problem was I just didn't really get it, or rather, I didn't get half of it. Rodriguez's side of Grindhouse worked really well for me. It was a mess of absurd fun and ridiculous violence (still not cool with the kid shooting himself, though). And I thought it pulled off the entire idea behind the project almost singlehandedly. Then Taranino's half began and it just never seemed to end. Seriously, it's just an hour and a half of Tarantino's WORST characters ever talking about absolutely nothing interesting and then being killed all in one big car crash (well, there are actually two sets of main characters, so halfway through you get to meet more uninteresting people). My point is, I felt that Rodriguez's half was the only part worth watching.
Now we have Machete, which is based off of one of the fake B-movie trailers in Grindhouse (which I found to be the most fun) and Rodriguez shows us once again that he's still top-dog when it comes to A-movie Direction with a B-movie concept. The film follows the title character, Machete (played by long time second-fiddle Danny Trejo) who was a legendary federale until his family were murdered by a Mexican druglord (strangely played by Steven Seagal). He seeks refuge across the border, looking for simple jobs to make ends meet. Then one day he is hired to assasinate a racist Texas Senator (Robert De Niro) who is pushing for stronger emmigration enforcement. However, Machete is double crossed in a high level political conspiracy to gain the voters approval of stricter emmigration laws. Unfortunately for said conspirators, "they just fucked with the wrong Mexican."
Yep, this is a supposedly mindless action movie based around a current hot-button issue. Let me reassure you, Machete has definitely got some things to say and some viewpoints to express (racism, scapegoating, vigilantism, immigration, etc.) but none of that takes hold of the movie. If you want to turn your brain off and just enjoy it, the film will certainly still work for you. Sure it's got messages and ideas, but we're never asked to take it too serieously. However, I'd say it's worth listening a bit to what it has to tell.
I have to say the acting is a mixed bag, unfortunately. I understand that part of the feel of these types of films is the off-color acting (looking at you Alba and Lohan) but I'd rather have good actors giving "bad" performances on purpose (Jeff Fahey) than bad actors giving bad performances (Seagal) because that's just what they do. There's a fine line between emulating a bad job and simply doing a bad job. It's really hit-or-miss with the supporting cast: Cheech Marin, Jeff Fahey, Don Johnson, and of course Robert De Niro are all spot-on; but Jessica Alba, Lindsay Lohan, and Steven Seagal are (predictably) not up to the task. And then there's Michelle Rodriguez, who seems to think that to be a strong female role model she has to act like a man (but have a vagina) and continues her recent career path of doing neither a good job or a bad job. Fortunately, the crucial performance of the film is fantastic. Danny Trejo truly embodies the role of Machete. You sense the dangerous abilities of his character right off the bat and is genuinly intimidating (possibly even more so if you are aware of Trejo's early-in-life criminal background). This is the role Trejo has been waiting his entire career to play, and it's a shame that he's had to wait so long.
Rodriguez has once again flawlessly pulled off the look and feel of classic exploitation films. But a lot of the success comes from the absurdity. There's tongue-in-cheek humour abound throughout the film: from over the top performances (look out for Jeff Fahey) to cartoonish violence. The violence is incredibly over the top in basic Rodriguez fashion, but one scene in particular is going to stick with audiences as one of the best kills in movie history. Hint: you'll never guess what Machete uses to repel from one window to another.
However, one of my disappointments with the film is that it doesn't maintain it's level of absurdity. Like with the violence: that window jumping scene is pretty early in the film, and that's about as good as it gets. There are pleny of opportunities to do more obsurd things in just as graphic of detail, but it doesn't follow through. For the last half of the film we mostly just get a lot of gunshot deaths and typical stabbing deaths. And once we get to the final showdown between Trejo and Seagal we are given a half-assed duel between two lumbering thugs (partially due to the fact that Seagal has REALLY let himself go). You need escalation in a movie like this, and you need an epic death for the final badguy: maybe cut open Seagal's gut and let the stomach acids burn him alive; or kick him so hard in the belly he craps out his intestines; or slice out Seagal's guts and make him eat his own stomach. Are you getting the message: Steven Seagal is REALLY fat.
But no, in the end Seagal just gives up and performs seppuku... as in he haphazardly disembowels himself. That just sucks, a hero like Machete deserves his awesome one-liner before the epic finish.
Also, because the entire film was made around the trailer in Grindhouse (and re-uses some of the footage) there's more than a handful of small continuity errors and non-sequitor scenes. For example, Cheech Marin's shotgun-wielding Catholic Priest character observes a group of armed men entering his church. He begins the scene inside the church, but then it cuts to him outside pulling out his two shotguns, dispatching a single henchman (with one of my favorite action movie one-liners ever) and then non-chalantly goes back inside the church for the rest of the scene.
Still, an excellent job has been done with this film. Machete will make you laugh, cheer, and stare in awe. Get out there and watch it.
Production Value: 8/10
Entertainment Value: 8/10
Overall Value: 8/10
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