Review of Machete Kills (2013) by Tom R — 18 Oct 2013

(3 Stars) First off, Mel Gibson should be in more movies. Whoever is keeping him away, stop it now, because he's the best part of Machete Kills. The rest of the film has stuff I like and stuff I don't like... which is weird because it's supposed to be a review-proof Grindhouse movie, but it doesn't feel like Death Proof or Planet Terror. Could it be because there's no damage to the print? Danny Trejo plays the awesome Machete and if you watch Modern Family, the stuff that comes out of Sofia Vergara's mouth is hilarious. The action is funny and over the top... so why didn't I love this movie?

It's hard to explain... I definitely am not fatigued with stylized action movies. But I still care about story, even in these Grindhouse movies. And the story here is all over the place with a lot of characters, but it's not charming, like Robert Rodriguez's Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico. There's one fake trailer at the beginning of the movie that's confusing because it's a sequel to the movie we're watching.... and then they basically replay it again at the end (this movie could have used a couple of new fake trailers; those are amazing) And the ending is only kind of an ending.

I'd call Machete Kills a solid rental for fans of the first. Maybe if you don't expect too much, you'll enjoy it a bit more.