The sequel to the vastly superior DESPERADO is a more traditional kind of action movie, but with enough style from Rodriguez (think of offbeat camera-work and bizarre performances), charisma from Antonio Banderas as the smouldering hero, insanity from Johnny Depp in a kooky performance better than that of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, and brain-dead action to recommend it to thrill-junkies. Once again, we're back in the hot and sweaty city streets south of the border, although this time the plot is far from simple, and instead rather muddled. It involves an evil army general, a plot to overthrow the Mexican president, El Mariachi and his friends plotting revenge, and a psychotic CIA agent who enlists the help of ex-FBI agent Ruben Blades to take down a drug lord who is changing his face. Got that?
The cast alone makes this worth watching. Depp's character undergoes the most entertaining – if OTT – transformation, and believe me when I say you've never seen anything like. Banderas doesn't take such a main role here, it being an ensemble piece, but he's indistinguishable from his earlier incarnation in terms of looks and charisma. Salma Hayek returns for a brief series of flashbacks, and Eva Mendes impresses as a cold femme fatale. Not only do Danny Trejo and Cheech Marin return from the last in the series, but we get Willem Dafoe as a sinister drug lord, Mickey Rourke as a Chihuahua-loving hit man and even singer Enrique Iglesias in a lacklustre performance. What more could you possibly want?
Well, there's gratuitous violence and black comedy in spades, as well as impressive shoot-outs and some explosive action come the finale. The plot may not be up to much but it certainly moves fast and there's never time to get bored. This is an entertainment piece, nothing more and nothing less, but certainly a film I'll enjoy watching a few more times.
The cast alone makes this worth watching. Depp's character undergoes the most entertaining – if OTT – transformation, and believe me when I say you've never seen anything like. Banderas doesn't take such a main role here, it being an ensemble piece, but he's indistinguishable from his earlier incarnation in terms of looks and charisma. Salma Hayek returns for a brief series of flashbacks, and Eva Mendes impresses as a cold femme fatale. Not only do Danny Trejo and Cheech Marin return from the last in the series, but we get Willem Dafoe as a sinister drug lord, Mickey Rourke as a Chihuahua-loving hit man and even singer Enrique Iglesias in a lacklustre performance. What more could you possibly want?
Well, there's gratuitous violence and black comedy in spades, as well as impressive shoot-outs and some explosive action come the finale. The plot may not be up to much but it certainly moves fast and there's never time to get bored. This is an entertainment piece, nothing more and nothing less, but certainly a film I'll enjoy watching a few more times.