Once Upon A Time In Mexico (2003) Movie Information:

Once Upon A Time In Mexico (2003) Directed by: Robert Rodriguez Once Upon A Time In Mexico (2003) Written by: Robert Rodriguez Once Upon A Time In Mexico (2003) Cast: Antonio Banderas, Willem Dafoe, Eva Mendes, Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp, Danny Trejo, Mickey Rourke, Enrique Iglesias, Marco Leonardi, Cheech Marin

Once Upon A Time In Mexico (2003) U.S. Distributor: Miramax Once Upon A Time In Mexico (2003) U.K. Distributor: Buena Vista

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Once Upon A Time In Mexico (2003) Synopsis:

Haunted and scarred by tragedy, El Mariachi has retreated into a life of isolation. He is forced out of hiding when Sands, a corrupt CIA agent, recruits the reclusive hero to sabotage an assassination plot against the president of Mexico, which has been conceived by the evil cartel kingpin, Barillo. But El Mariachi also has his own reasons for returning--blood revenge. The desperado returns with his two capable cohorts Lorenzo and Fideo. And the legend of El Mariachi reaches new heights of adventure.

Once Upon A Time In Mexico (2003) Movie Review:

“So tell me are you a Mexi“can” or a Mexi“can’t”?”, Johnny Depp’s anti-hero Sands sputters to bad guy Cucuy (Danny Trejo).

That lone quote sets the tone for the latest from self-styled director Robert Rodriguez who continues his series of the legendary guitar-player with heavy artillery, El Mariachi.

This third film in the series finds El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas) reflecting back on his life when he is coaxed out of retirement by deep CIA operative Agent Sands (Johnny Depp) to help stop the assassination of the Mexican president by a sadistic General who El Mariachi has a vendetta upon. Thrown into the mix are a troubled FBI Agent (Ruben Blades), a United States fugitive (Mickey Rourke), a mad drug kingpin (Willem Dafoe) and some of Mariachi’s gun toting buddies (one played by singer Enrique Igelsias).

This film is the perfect example of flash over substance. The direction of Rodriguez is flashy, gutsy and flourishes in a lot of areas but leaves the story cold in its conveyance. In other words the plot details and subplots become muddled and are utterly useless in the barrage of stylized direction. We want this to be an action thriller with smart dialogue and shocking subplots but instead we get none of that. Rodriguez instead uses humor as super-glue to hold his film together.

He also uses the charisma of Depp to give the film some credibility. Depp is charming, devious and an utter delight to watch but it’s a shame the film doesn’t capitalize on his amazing performance. The junk around Depp still makes me scratch my head. Who was Eva Mendes playing and why did she fit into this mess? Were any of the plots really solved except for the Mariachi story?

I can’t say that I enjoyed this film but rather enjoyed slivers of it. For me Depp is the only reason to watch this. He is amazing but one performance in a losing cause isn’t worth it.

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Once Upon A Time In Mexico (2003) review written by: Dean Kish