Machete

An exploitation epic with a bizarre plot involving Mexican drug lords, Texan businessmen and a giant fence along the US-Mexico border, Machete is smart political satire done big and loud. And if that seems like a contradiction, well, that’s kind of where you’ll be stuck with Machete which is a. Easily Rodriguez’s most entertainingly violent film since Desperado, it’s a welcome return to the genre he made his name in: the modern western. Danny Trejo doesn’t have the superstar charm and sex-appeal of Antonio Banderas, but he’s a definite presence on screen. He really does look like a man who can be shot, beaten, stabbed and left for dead and still keep chasing you. The man is built like a brick shithouse and that’s the beauty of his character. He’s not an elegant assassin with a pistol, he’s a blunt instrument. He decapitates with a machete. And he just powers through the bad guys until there’s no one left.

Everyone is in on the joke, so it’s played broad. Jessica Alba and Michelle Rodriguez play tough and sexy, Jeff Fahey plays snarling villain and Robert De Niro seems to have a lot of fun playing racist and cowardly. Lindsay Lohan parodies her off-screen persona whilst Cheech Marin gets some great lines and a really nasty death. And it’s a surprise to see Steven Seagal as Torrez, the evil drug lord.

Basically, if you saw Planet Terror, then you’ve seen the fake trailer for Machete. They took that trailer, worked out a story to make all those shots fit together, then made a film. It’s not something to be taken seriously but it does touch on some serious issues in a highly entertaining way.

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