Review of Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) by Mohamed A — 08 Nov 2012

Once Upon a Time in Mexico is Rodriguez's most explosive and action packed installment of the trilogy, but it is at the expense of a well rounded story with good dialogue. The plot is pretty straightforward and easy to follow most of the time, but it's very disjointed and all over the place. I think Rodriguez threw too many characters into this film and it made the core of the story spiral out of control. It's an example of too much ambition without enough structure. So many characters, so little time. Maybe if this had been an hour longer it could have worked out better, or maybe it would have been a miserably grueling three hour experience. I think there's something that could have been done to make this film really good, but whatever it was Rodriguez didn't realize it.All that being said, Once Upon a Time in Mexico is still an exciting and explosively entertaining film. It doesn't capture the same glamorous style as Desperado, but Rodriguez still touches it up with his unique flare. Plus, this film is so chock full of big stars that to see them all work together is a lot of fun. Johnny Depp as the lunatic CIA agent is awesome, especially when he goes gun slinging crazy towards the end of the film. Mickey Rourke and Willem Dafoe have small roles as villains, and they are both fiendishly fantastic. And then you have the great bit parts from people like Cheech Marin, Ruben Blades, and, one of my favorite character actors, Danny Trejo.

With such an all star cast and a visionary behind the camera it's a shame that Once Upon a Time in Mexico is a little lackluster. But it's a fun experience despite being full of problems. If you have seen El Mariachi and Desperado then certainly don't miss out on the final film of the trilogy, even if it is the weakest.