Review of Desperado (1995) by Aquiles V — 01 Mar 2011

A mariachi continues to seek revenge on a druglord who murdered is lover. Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek heat up the screen in this outlandish shoot-em-up directed by Robert Rodriguez. Banderas charms his way through the ensuing madness as "El Mariachi" while carrying his trusty acoustic guitar case filled with an assortment of deadly weapons; all befitting his knock-around character quite remarkably.

A truly astonishing scene has Banderas jump backwards off a high building to the one below while shooting two henchmen and landing unscathed in the process. His character makes it seem like he does this kind of thing often. Salma Hayek is a dream and seems to take control of the film whenever scenes change in her favor (I wouldn't mind having a film solely based on her character). The soundtrack, with music from Los Lobos and Tito & Tarantula (some others as well, but these are the top musicians for myself), was an excellent choice by Rodriguez and carried the films plot in a rather mesmerizing way---we hear it again in From Dusk Till Dawn with Salma Hayek also taking center stage once more, literally.

Yes, most of the fight scenes come off as cartoonish in nature; screaming blind luck, but that's what you're going to get with a director like Robert Rodriguez. I mean, who doesn't enjoy a little over-the-top mayhem in their cinematic experiences? The film has that predictable essence where you know that the protagonist is going to come out of it alive, no matter how unorthodox his situation is. And with a film like Desperado, we're given front row seats to a wildly, entertaining thrill ride with tons of far-fetched near-falls and disposable bodies galore.

Desperado shot Banderas into Hollywood stardom, at the time, and it makes you wonder if the film would have been just as huge if original "El Mariachi" actor Carlos Gallardo (he also makes an appearance as Campa, one of two friends of "El Mariachi") helmed the role. Unfortunately, the following installment in the "Mexico Trilogy" was a failure and only threw Banderas out of the spotlight and into obscurity, strengthening the persona of Johnny Depp in the process (as if he needed it). Desperado was a grand achievement by Robert Rodriguez and the best film in the "Mexico Trilogy".