Post by StevePulaski on Apr 5, 2011 20:58:39 GMT -5
Danny Trejo has a heart of cold in Machete.
Rating: ★★★
If it hadn't been for the fake trailer for the film in Grindhouse, Machete may have never seen the light of day. I plan to review both Grindhouse films in the next couple of months even though I have seen them. I just need to find the time. Machete was one of the few fake trailers created for the special event. For those not familiar with the Grindhouse film I'll give you a quick little rundown.
Grindhouse was a back to back movie event that came to theaters in April 2007 directed by both Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. The films were Planet Terror and Death Proof shown in the grainy format like a Grindhouse theater, a lower end theater in the seventies that would show cheesy action, horror, or comedy exploitation films. To my surprise, Grindhouse flopped and still hasn't made it's full budget back in revenue. Due to the unfamiliar style, many people didn't know they paid to go see two films. Naturally, many people left after the first film (Planet Terror) not knowing another film, Death Proof would follow Planet Terror after the credits.
Machete was one of the fake trailers along with Thanksgiving and Hobo with a Shotgun (due for a release this year). Unfortunately, Machete lacks the feel of a true exploitation film for two reasons. One, it uses big name actors like Lindsay Lohan and Robert De Niro. Having them in a movie trying to pass off as "an underground, exploitation film" is a little strange. It's also not shot with added film grain like Planet Terror and Death Proof. That alone is disappointing. The trailer of the film teases you because it shows the film in a grainy texture. What a letdown.
The plot: Machete Cortez (Trejo) is an illegal immigrant ass-kicker who is now hopelessly roaming the streets of Texas three years after a drug lord killed his entire family. Michael Booth (Jeff Fahey) is a business man in Texas who offers to pay Machete $150,000 to assassinate John McLaughlin (De Niro), a Texas State Senator. After a sniper bullet wound interferes with Machete's plans, Machete now must escape the cops and is now on the run to expose McLaughlin since his plans to close the Mexican borders are utterly extreme and must have some purpose greater than what he says. Machete tries to recruit his now pacifist ex-partner Padre (Marin) to help him out as well as working with Agent Sartana Rivera (Alba).
Machete also holds the ball on one of the funniest action scenes in recent years. In a hospital, Machete rips a man's small intestine out of his stomach using a sharp blade and swings to a lower level room using it. It's a scene that is hard to explain, but needs to be watched.
It's hard to believe the cold-hearted Machete character was born in the 2001 kids adventure film Spy Kids (also directed by Rodriguez). Daryl Sabara, who portrayed Juni Cortez in the Spy Kids films, had a cameo in this film. It's nice to see him all grown up in this film, it's not so nice to see him in Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World due for a release this year.
Death Proof still stands as my favorite Grindhouse film of the franchise. Machete is a good film and a great tribute to it's respective genre. But the lack of film grain and the big name actors deteriorate from what it's trying to be. It isn't all that it could've been, but it's a damn good action flick in its own right.
Starring: Danny Trejo, Cheech Marin, Lindsay Lohan, Jeff Fahey, and Robert De Niro. Directed by: Robert Rodriguez.