Review of Machete Kills (2013) by Franklin S — 21 Oct 2013

Robert Rodriguez has found himself another well to overpopulate, with a second go-round with Machete that promises a third installment before Machete Kills even starts. For a while the movie is entertaining in fits and starts, hitting a lot of the same jokes that worked better the first time around and which were ultimately efficiently covered in the opening trailer for Grindhouse.

What really keeps the fun slightly above water initially is a wonderfully unhinged performance from Demian Bichir as the chief villain Mendez, who happens to have conflicting multiple personalities that at times makes him both on Machete's side AND against him.

Unfortunately, he's not in the movie enough to keep the energy sustained, and the movie is overstuffed with ideas, such as an assassin with multiple faces who amounts to nothing and is a waste of the talents of Walton Goggins, Cuba Gooding, Jr.

, Lady Gaga and Antonio Banderas, and who would have thought that Mel Gibson would be a less entertaining villain than Steven Seagal? Ultimately, Machete Kills is a longwinded joke whose punchline grows increasingly telegraphed as the movie continues.