Review of Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) by Blake P — 09 Nov 2012

Filmed on a small-budget but jam-packed with terrific actors, "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" is pulpy, adrenaline pumping fun. The last movie in the "El Mariachi" series, the film shows Robert Rodriguez going from a micro-string budget in the 1992 to super-stardom in 2003, but it also shows him matured as a filmmaker.

But saying Rodriguez has matured is really saying he's more in touch with his directing style-- because "Once" is still filled with silly, over-the-top violence with a sense of humor to boot.

It's basically all about El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas), the tough-as-nails musician turned vigilante dealing with lots of shady characters in the rough part of Mexico. The plot is almost impossible to follow, I'll admit it, but I still enjoyed every second of the film.

Rodriguez is the kind of director that can make a film crazy and cheap without it being stupid (kind of like of his BFF Quentin Tarantino), because he always seems to know what works and what doesn't.

Sure, there's lots of holes in the plotting, and the writing sometimes gets a little tiring, but he knows how to write an action scene and a character, and those are the strong suits of the film. The gunfights are deliciously over-the-top (this is the kind of world where bullets make the victim fly up in the air) and the violence never seems to be gratuitous, and the additions of Johnny Depp's show stealing performance as CIA Agent Sands, and Eva Mendes' ruthless portrayal as girl with gun Ajedrez make the film constantly invigorating.

When you're not thrilled by it, you're loving its characters. Just don't think about it as a deep, intelligent source of entertainment. "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" is the kind of film that would've worked way back in the "Django" era, and it's homages bring a fitting end to the endearing trilogy.