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ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO *** out of *****
 Genres
2003
Written and directed by Robert Rodriguez Cast Antonio Banderas .... El Mariachi Salma Hayek .... Carolina Johnny Depp .... Sands Mickey Rourke .... Billy Eva Mendes .... Ajedrez Danny Trejo .... Cucuy Enrique Iglesias .... Lorenzo Marco Leonardi .... Fideo Cheech Marin .... Belini Rubén Blades .... Jorge FBI Willem Dafoe .... Barillo
In 1992 independent filmmaker Robert Rodriguez created a sensation around the world with his film El Mariachi. The film itself was a generic action film with a Latino flavour, but it stood out largely because of how it was made for a minuscule budget of $7,000 and how the director raised those funds by subjecting himself to experimental drug tests. He originally made the film on 16mm for the Mexican video market. Upon completing El Mariachi the video was shopped around the studios until Columbia Tristar picked it up and invested some more money in a 35mm film print and an updated soundtrack. Soon enough, after gaining some notoriety on the film festival circuit that included Sundance, the film was unleashed to the general public.
El Mariachi became an instant fan favourite, the film made some money at the box office and secured a sequel, 1995’s Desperado. Armed with a slightly larger budget ($7 million) and two great stars Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek. Desperado did well at the box office. Combined with video and DVD sales the popularity of these two films had spread over the years to a larger audience. Initially Rodriguez never planned to do a Mariachi trilogy, but it was the words of friend Quentin Tarantino that convinced him to expand the series into three films. That’s where Once Upon a Time in Mexico fits in.
 | The Bollywood style dance scene
is a highlight. | Mexico’s journey from concept to completion was a long road, it had been six years since Rodriguez had done anything with his Mariachi character, but once the green light was given the project fell together rather quickly. The script, pre-production, and production of the film all took place in-between the production of Spy Kids and Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams in 2001. To save time, money and for general efficiency reasons he chose to shoot the entire film on High-Definition Digital, utilising the same cameras used for Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
Rodriguez assembled an all-star ensemble cast that included the return of Banderas and Hayek, and also Johnny Depp as a corrupt CIA operative Agent Sands, Mickey Rourke as ex-patriot criminal Billy, Eva Mendes as tough Mexican police officer Ajedrez, Enrique Iglesias as a fellow Mariachi hit man Lorenzo, and Willem Dafoe as the drug overload Barillo. Having completed the film shoot in a matter of months it would be two years before the film was to be released. In that time the second the third Spy Kids instalment was released. Finally in 2003, one of my most anticipated films was finally unleashed on the public.
 | Here Hayek delivers some well
rounded exposition. | The story follows Desperado only in flashbacks, which is interwoven within the plot of this film. The flashbacks reveal that after the end of Desperado Carolina and the Mariachi marry and are expecting a baby, but their chances for a normal family life are put to end when a crazed general murders the Mariachi’s wife and yet to be born baby. Cut to present day and Mariachi is a broken man who has put his killing ways behind him, but when approached by a loose canon CIA Agent Sands (Depp) he’s put back to work and given an assignment to murder the current Mexican President. It’s not really clear whether Agent Sands’ agenda is that of the CIA or his own. Eventually it is discovered that the man that Sands wants placed as the new President is the same crazed General that long ago murdered the Mariachi’s pregnant wife. Having collected his guitar case of weapons and commissioned the help of his two Mariachi friends it’s time to make things right and take out this General who he though was once dead. Throughout this entire fiasco, Sands influences ex-FBI agent Jorge into going back in the field secretly to investigate what the drug lord Barillo is up to, we eventually discover that he too has an agenda that is dependent upon a successful coup.
From the first frame it was evident that this film was going to be something different than what we’ve seen in the two previous Mariachi films. The feel was much more epic and the scale of the production value and musical score aided that epic feel. Mexico had a lot of good things going for it, the witty banter between characters was amusing, the over-the-top action was fun to watch, and Johnny Depp’s scene stealing Agent Sands character was fantastic. Additionally the technical aspects of the film where also impressive. The digital cinematography looked breathtaking, capturing the bold gold, brown and black colours of Mexico, creating a richness not often seen. Matched with fast-paced editing and a musical score that is reminiscent of the Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns that were scored by the great Ennio Morricone.
 | Finally someone's made a movie
version of Kiss: Psycho Circus. | If one thing is clear it’s that Rodriguez knows how to get as much bang for your buck and this film is a testament to that. However there are some aspects of the film that didn’t quite deliver, first of all the script. It felt as if the plot itself was a last minute addition to fill space in between the action and was occasionally forgotten or slightly diverted throughout the action, but would occasionally come back into play when Rodriguez deemed necessary. There are also many cameo players and characters in this film, many of which underused (Dafoe, for example). The inclusion of so many characters to follow was, at times, confusing.
Apart from these inherent problems Mexico is at the end of the day a popcorn action film and things like plot just get in the way. If you’re looking for a good time with babes, guns and explosions then this is a ride you might want to take.
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