A bit of background first: I didn't enjoy Grindhouse, but loved its Machete trailer and hoped for the movie to be made. Luckily, I wasn't the only one, and the movie came out. I enjoyed it, but only mildly, which was disappointing. Also, I am biased when it comes to Danny Trejo. I give a shot to whatever he is in. I just enjoy the man, although he has always been better in a supporting cast than as a lead. Still, I don't give rating stars easily, and certainly won't praise a movie just for casting someone I like.
Now with Machete Kills. Well, it's better than its predecessor. Not perfect (yet?), not quite what it aspires to be, but much closer. It is very difficult to make chaos evenly entertaining for two hours; that may explain why I felt like some scenes didn't hit their mark. Which don't really matter because after the end credits, I was still laughing my tears off.
I'll start with the end, and a bit more background: I boycotted Mr Tarentino for years after Kill Bill, for which I paid to see Michael Madsen, only to see an ugly blonde skeleton dressed like HK's legendariest hero in an unfinished story. Had I met Mr T. shortly afterwards (the Quentin one, not that big strong guy from the A-Team), I would have harmlessly kicked his sitting organ to express my disapproving of being conned.
Machete Kills ends on a cliffhanger. An excellent one, clever, hilarious. And it doesn't even matter if the space sequel is made or not, because it stands on its own as a perfect ending.
You see, you won't watch Machete Kills for its suspenseful plot, because anything can happen. No laws of physics, biology or men apply here, only the laws of cinema and comics, in particular superhero comics. One of the classics, ignored in most superhero films, is put to good use here: Death is anything but permanent. Hey, after a while, I even expected Cheech Marin to make a come-back.
Machete Kills is a very good parody. It's an homage, not a mockery. To me, it parodies mostly James Bond from the Roger Moore's era, in which each stunt was more incredible and unbelievable than the previous one. It cleverly parallels Star Wars as well. Borrows from the director's own movies don't work so well, such as the crotch-gun from Tom Savini's character Sex Machine in From Disk Till Dawn. I obviously missed a lot of references and jokes, and you'll get more if, unlike me, you are Mexican or from the USA.
The casting is excellent, except for the Lady Gaga girl but her fan base will hopefully be good for business. Mr Trejo's average oratory skills are covered by having the villains do most of the talking, while Machete sometimes grunts the shortest and cheesiest one-liners at the 3rd person. And it works great.
I'm getting too long. I won't develop on the flaws. Machete Kills is chaotic, completely mad, very funny and has many tremendously entertaining moments.
Now with Machete Kills. Well, it's better than its predecessor. Not perfect (yet?), not quite what it aspires to be, but much closer. It is very difficult to make chaos evenly entertaining for two hours; that may explain why I felt like some scenes didn't hit their mark. Which don't really matter because after the end credits, I was still laughing my tears off.
I'll start with the end, and a bit more background: I boycotted Mr Tarentino for years after Kill Bill, for which I paid to see Michael Madsen, only to see an ugly blonde skeleton dressed like HK's legendariest hero in an unfinished story. Had I met Mr T. shortly afterwards (the Quentin one, not that big strong guy from the A-Team), I would have harmlessly kicked his sitting organ to express my disapproving of being conned.
Machete Kills ends on a cliffhanger. An excellent one, clever, hilarious. And it doesn't even matter if the space sequel is made or not, because it stands on its own as a perfect ending.
You see, you won't watch Machete Kills for its suspenseful plot, because anything can happen. No laws of physics, biology or men apply here, only the laws of cinema and comics, in particular superhero comics. One of the classics, ignored in most superhero films, is put to good use here: Death is anything but permanent. Hey, after a while, I even expected Cheech Marin to make a come-back.
Machete Kills is a very good parody. It's an homage, not a mockery. To me, it parodies mostly James Bond from the Roger Moore's era, in which each stunt was more incredible and unbelievable than the previous one. It cleverly parallels Star Wars as well. Borrows from the director's own movies don't work so well, such as the crotch-gun from Tom Savini's character Sex Machine in From Disk Till Dawn. I obviously missed a lot of references and jokes, and you'll get more if, unlike me, you are Mexican or from the USA.
The casting is excellent, except for the Lady Gaga girl but her fan base will hopefully be good for business. Mr Trejo's average oratory skills are covered by having the villains do most of the talking, while Machete sometimes grunts the shortest and cheesiest one-liners at the 3rd person. And it works great.
I'm getting too long. I won't develop on the flaws. Machete Kills is chaotic, completely mad, very funny and has many tremendously entertaining moments.