Review of Desperado (1995) by Stephen E — 01 Jan 2010

DESPERADO is a constantly thrilling and gun-crazy action Western from the talented Robert Rodriguez. Having written, produced, and directed the film, he shows a kinetic flair for the film's bloody violence and fun storytelling. Even if this is his second feature (after his low-budget hit EL MARIACHI), his established signatures of bloody violence and fun plots and fast editing started here.

Note: I'm talking just about his R-rated films, not his PG films.

Antonio Banderas is having a ball (and we're with him on that) as the no-name gun-toting Mariachi, bent on one sole purpose: to kill the man who killed his girl, no matter the cost. A young Salma Hayek as Carolina is a real looker and has a believable innocence about her. The villain played by Joaquium Almeida is fairly menacing as the drug lord Bucho.

The story that DESPERADO delivers is standard revenge fare. A man loses his girl to a man with a gun, so he sets his sights on the man. That man is Bucho. Along the way, the Marachi makes some friends and brings them in, when the need for them is right.

The highlighted feature of the film is definitely the action sequences. They're fast and bloody, and slightly cartoonish as bullets fly everywhere and crazy stunts are made that would injure a regular person.

DESPERADO is an action Western with plenty of violence, along with fun to be had in the storytelling, The cast and crew made a solid follow-up to EL MARIACHI, and the next film ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO was wilder still. My personal favorite of the bunch is the seoond (I don't know why, it just is). Be ready for more Critiques and Opinions on Every Game and Movie I Can Get My Hands On!