Although it has quite a bit of bloody action, the film should not be taken seriously as an action, thriller, crime, or any other kind of genre film. The cast is mostly amateur, apparantly friends and relatives of friends of the dire tor and producer, so the acting is marginal but the camera work is inventive and the story is, well it's rather implausible but still interesting and honestly quite amusing with a little romance (and some very lovely women in mostly bit parts). The villians are largely cartoon characters and about a clueless as the Willey Coyote. In fact, the hero isn't the brightest bulb on the circuit either but that's part of ths joke. Robert Rodriguez obviously demonstrated enough style and talent to net him budget and big name actors in the two sequels (Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp, Steve Buscemi). Some might criticize the film for its rank amateurism but that's really part of its charm and appeal. After watching a bunch of YouTube video clips, I bought the movie not really knowing what to expect and I wasn't disappointed. See it with tongue planted firmly in cheek and judge for yourself.
Review of El Mariachi
