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Machete (2010) – Trailer Included
Machete Poster
Writer/Director: Robert Rodriguez
Starring: Danny Trejo, Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Steven Seagal, Don Johnson, Cheech Marin, Jeff Fahey, Lindsay Lohan, Tom Savini
Armed and deadly!
The corporate movie making machine has changed significantly in the new millennium and it’s not just the technology. The way movies are funded, marketed and distributed is constantly being redefined. Though Machete is not the first film to convince financiers that because of a trailer a feature film would be a good investment, it is possibly the first time a “mock” trailer generated enough excitement to warrant a full length movie.
The character named Machete first appeared in the Spy Kids trilogy, but the fake trailer on the Tarantino/Rodriguez Grindhouse experiment saw the mexi-who-can hack his way into the nether regions of anticipated fan boy celluloid trash snacks.
“We didn't cross the border. The border crossed us.” – Sartana
An outlandish live action cartoon, Machete is brutal blood bath exploitation that doesn’t forget soft fleshy bits are always welcome to split up graphic but consequence free violence. The film is more fun than ripping the tongue out of that annoying taco bell Chihuahua and is certainly closer to pure Grindhouse guilty pleasure than even Planet Terror managed.
If you saw the explosive ‘trailer” then you know the whole story…Machete is the Latino superfly, women love him and men fear him. Named for his skill with a gardening tool, (plus any other sharp implement) he’s a one man wrecking-ball who hacks, slashes and stabs his way through any adversary in his path. An assassin for hire, an ex federale, he is a man with a past hired by a corrupt political aide, Michael Booth (Jeff Fahey) to execute racist Senator John Mclaughlin (Robert De Niro).
Double crossed, framed and hunted, Machete must slaughter the hombres that betrayed him, pleasure senoritas that help him and generally be a lone wolf, bad muthafucka who answers to no one.
"You just fucked with the wrong Mexican." - Booth
Machete and his long range weapon.
John Doe Says:
Machete at play.
Writer/Director Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, Desperado) again keeps the stained film stock, grainy cinematography, punch and stick editing synonymous with his inspiration. The story is secondary and continuity is treated lightly, concerned instead on delivering memorable snippets in the form of cool dialogue sound bytes or visual assaults of gory anarchy.
Written in 1993, the screenplay is dominated by one liner’s and punch lines that simultaneously manipulate and play into stereotypes. Corrupt, rich white men are the villains that need to have an ambush of justice hurled into their lives by the impoverished masses. Novelty characters are introduced and then forgotten before rising to their zenith. Taking a sensationalistic premise and maneuvering to the extreme this is a low budget burrito and tacos spectacle that knows it audience. This is actually a massive compliment, an example of how a stylish Director who knows his subject needs nothing more than a string of dental floss as concept to succeed. Even if it does get a little repetitive at times, telling the same joke 20 different ways it still feels like an invigorated chunk of mindless, B-Grade sin. The action scenes are over the top, cut with velocity and mixed with ear bursting decibel design that comes in waves of audio mixing impact and guitar strumming rhythms.
The thing that amputates this film from its template is the all star cast that has been assembled to slam their tongues in cheek and devour scenery with an all you can eat frenzy. Their inclusion really raises the fun quotient and with the Directors vibrant energy it’s clear that all who signed on did it for the selfish thrill of the game.
De Niro at gunpoint.
What new can be said about the gritty stories Danny Trejo’s stone cold, scarred and weathered face tells? Leaving little doubt that he comes from a hard world of brutal incarceration, as Machete Trejo cuts an iconic figure destined for cult status. Trejo knows his “type” well and supposedly begged, ever since Desperado, for Rodriguez to shoot the film.
Jeff Fahey (Body Parts) owes Rodriguez for the solid scene stealing moments he affords the one time Lawnmower Man. In Planet Terror his wing sauce fetish became much quoted around these parts and as the scheming and corrupt orchestrator he again fills his role with relish.
Don Johnson deserves credit.
Seagal and Trejo face off with blades
Spicer than jalapeño chilly sauce, Michelle Rodriguez (Girlfight, Avatar) is the underground “she” warrior Luz. Slotting in neatly to the tacky tone, her staring down gruffness is not wasted.
The before and after of Alba in the shower.
Lindsay is on a mission from god!
SFX guru Tom Savini (From Dusk Till Dawn) basks in front of the camera in his extended walk on as a professional killer with a ruthless reputation. His character becoming a seemingly deliberate loose thread that would have been clumsily left on the cutting room floor in the days of the original Grindhouse cinema productions.
Cheech Marin (Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn)is a staple in Rodriguez films and the lethal priest he plays as with most of the cast is obviously written with the actor in mind.
Not to be taken seriously. Certainly an acquired taste for those who laugh at what may offend some Machete is as subtle as the jungle clearing tool that it is named for. John Doe found adequate entertainment in this better with a few beers and a bud film. To break it down, it’s not as good as Planet Terror…but it successfully displays all the potential that could come from the snapshot trailer.
Trailer for Machete
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