When one looks at a film like Machete Kills, you get one of two thoughts in your head. 1) "This movie looks ridiculously stupid. What the f*** is this?" Or 2) you get the image that I perceive "This looks like one of those 1970s B-Movies. It's over the top, but you're not supposed to take it seriously."
Machete Kills continues the story of ex-federale Machete Cortez. He is recruited by the President of the United States to track down a bipolar revolutionary south of the border, and put a stop to his threats to Washington. Machete soon discovers that the real danger is the weapons dealer at the top of the chain.
The film opens with a trailer for a supposed third installment in the series entitled Machete Kills Again...In Space. Believe it or not, Robert Rodriguez actually has the cojones to try to make it seem plausible with this movie. This may be the one of the most ridiculous films I have ever seen. The story starts off like an ordinary action movie, yet as it progresses it becomes more and more of a cartoon. Yet this is, as I said earlier, on purpose. It is an homage of the films Rodriguez grew up with. There should never be a time when you take the film seriously. If you do, you will leave the theater utterly disappointed. If you don't accept the premise (and that may take a little work) you will not be into this film at all.
I admire Danny Trejo. He has been described as the Mexican Schwarzenegger. Yet in this film, you can tell he is bored. And to say the least he is aging. He is working hard, yet he struggles with many of his stunts. He still comes across as the badass he is meant to, but he is starting to slow down.
Mel Gibson returns to the spotlight in the role of the ruthless weapons dealer Luther Voz. To be sure, Gibson is trying hard in this film. Yet, like Trejo, he seems rather flat. He comes across as two dimensional, as a cartoonish super villain. But, he's trying. Give him a chance, he's coming back.
Anyone who knows me will understand that I am a rather big fan of Charlie Sheen. Here, he takes after his father by playing the President. He does his best, yet he can not help resorting to some of his old tricks. He will forever be typecast as the alcoholic womanizer, yet it is something he does better than most.
Making her acting debut in this film is the pop star Lady Gaga. She is in the film rather briefly, and does have much room to show her chops. Yet, she goes against the image you might expect from her and comes across as somewhat of a badass in her own right. There is my long standing musicians as actors preconception, but with some work, Gaga could develop as an actor and do it rather well. She will of course need more work.
For this film we have two Andrew's Standouts. The first would be Academy Award Nominee Demián Bichir. He plays a bipolar revolutionary by the named Madman Mendez. Unlike most of the other actors of this film, he showcases his spectrum of talent. He is emotionally complex and multilayered. He pops in every scene he is in. He dominates his scenes, and tries to make something out of the writing he is dealt with.
The second Standout would be Sofia Vergara who plays the mistress of a brothel, Madame Desdemona. She, like Bichir, is a multilayered and complex actress who brings something more to her role than what is in the script. It is easy to think she is meant to simply be another piece of the films female eye-candy, and the fact that the producers choose to promote the fact she sports a bra-gun lends itself to this idea. But she is much more than that. She is a tortured soul with a horrific backstory. I have had my doubts about Vergara as a performer, yet after watching her in Modern Family, and this film, I find her very talented.
The special effects in this film look like something out of the 1980s. However, i'm not sure whether they are meant to look cheesy or are simply end-products of the film's very low budget, but whatever the reason they are not fooling anyone.
This is one of the films that you should see, but you may want to wait until you can Redbox it. It is one of those "you won't believe it until you see it" films.
C+
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