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		MPAA Rating: R (Restricted) Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
Guns, guns, guns! And a few explosions as bodies fly through the air and crash into tables and fruit stands. Once Upon a Time in Mexico, like all Robert Rodriguez movies, is all about the kinetic kick of high-velocity action. Johnny Depp, blase and whimsical, plays a CIA agent who's drawn guitar-playing gun-slinger Antonio Banderas (long black hair flopping over his face like the ears of a Labrador puppy) into a ridiculously convoluted plot to overthrow the Mexican government. Along for the ride are a craggy-faced rogue's gallery including Willem Dafoe, Mickey Rourke, Danny Trejo, Ruben Blades, and (to balance things out) the smooth, tantalizing complexions of Eva Mendes and Salma Hayek. For sheer trashy fun, Once Upon a Time in Mexico is a step down from its predecessor, Desperado--but Desperado set the bar pretty high. For coherent storytelling, look elsewhere, but for action razzle-dazzle, this is your movie. --Bret Fetzer

Once Upon a Time in Mexico [Region 2] Reviews:
Guerilla Warfare With Hollywood Flair
2008-06-24 - Anyone interested in how bad a $30 million film can be? Keep reading.

"Once Upon A Time In Mexico" is a blow-em' up, shoot-em' up fiasco, replete with an ensemble cast that fails to impress. Antonio Banderas reprises his role as El Mariachi (emphasis on the "El") and this time nearly the entire state of Mexico has a bounty on his head. The film's continued saga from the prequels "El Mariachi" and 1995's more notable "Desperado" suffers from cliché grandé, El now avenging the brutal murder of his wife and daughter.

The rest of the plot is completely nonsensical and I won't bother to explain. I can't really remember what it was anyway, seeing as how it was so ridiculous and I decided instead to pay attention to the smoldering visages of Johnny Depp and Antonio Banderas. I'm sure that doesn't help out the straight men that are reading this. Well, tough.

But this might. Salma Hayek, who played the voluptuous (and I underlined that part) Carolina in "Desperado", also reprises her role but only in retrospect, her screen time made extremely brief due to the flashbacks she appears in. Perhaps she was too absorbed in the labor of love that became "Frida" (shoots for "Once Upon a Time" were deferred to accommodate her schedule with director Julie Taymor) and Rodriguez decided that what little he got out of her would be first dibs for the cutting-room floor. Despite this, Hayek still got top billing. I guess that million-dollar salary speaks for itself, eh?

Depp is an excellent character actor but his outing as Sands is beneath him. I only wish that HE had been the star of the show or at least had a much more substantial amount of time on camera. For a 40-year old man that doesn't look a day over 25 (and that's not an exaggeration on my part), he should've gotten a lot more face time, if you ask me. He soon made up for that with all of his "Pirates of the Carribean" films, not to mention winning a Golden Globe for 2007's "Sweeney Todd".

The addition of Latin crooner Enrique Iglesias (Lorenzo) to the cast is a little bit laughable but the sultry singer manages not to embarrass himself too much - he had more talent in his music videos, I'm sorry to say (except for "Hero" - GAG ME). Willem Dafoe looks impressive as the villainous Barillo but fails to convince as soon as he opens his mouth to speak English, much less Spanish. Ruben Blades is a disappointment as Jorge, a retired FBI agent who gets back into the game to bag a little retaliation of his own for a murdered partner. Who embarrasses the most is Mickey Rourke as Billy, one of Barillo's lackeys and certainly the most pathetic. The only thing I found redeeming about him was Moco, the adorable little Chihuahua he toted everywhere.

The many explosions and gunfire may provide action buffs satisfaction o' plenty, but the bang for a lady's buck comes from watching two gorgeous men (Depp, Banderas) prove that age ain't nothing but a number.


Judged on it's own merits...not that bad
2008-06-20 - It's hard not to see this as a let down following Desperado and given the additions of some big names, most notably Johnny Depp. However, judged as simply another high action low everything else movie, it isn't that bad. There's lots of explosions, shoot-em up scenes, and some over-the-top squeamishness, but there is enough left-over cool factor from the previous two to make it enjoyable enough. Depp steals the show and in hindsight, I wonder if this was a vehicle made more for him than Banderas, Hayek, or anyone else. His character is compelling to watch as he quirks his way through the convoluted plot and brings a bludgeoningly sardonic element to the otherwise largely two dimensional characters. Hayek is barely present, Mickey Rourke is bland, and Willem Dafoe was simply a bad choice. He does an almost black-face as a Mexican, the make-up so horridly obvious on his fair features. I find it impossible to believe that there were no Latino actors who could've brought equal marquee stature and shored up the woeful lack of credibility brought by Dafoe. Still, Eva Mendes is a nice evil touch and the heart of the movie may just belong to Ruben Blades as the retired FBI agent out to do the right thing.
Once again, as in Desperado, there is a boy who plays a small but important role in the movie and adds some humanity to the popcorn carnage.
Once Upon a Time in Mexico is a fair part of the trilogy and while it pales in comparison to it's predecessors, standing on its own, it is adequate enough for a good viewing.

GREAT
2008-06-02 - THIS WAS A GREAT MOVIE. DESPERADO DID HAVE A SPECIAL CHARM WHICH IS HARD TO TOP, BUT THIS MOVIE SORT OF TOOK A DIFFERENT SPIN. IT HAD TO - DESPERADO WAS THAT GOOD. JOHNNY DEPP IS ADDED TO THE MIX, AND HE MUST HAVE WANTED THIS ROLE, AS HE IS VERY PICKY ABOUT THE ROLES HE PLAYS. HERE, HE DELIVERS AGAIN, AND UPSTAGES EVERYONE, HE'S SUCH A BRILLANT ACTOR. IT'S A GREAT MOVIE. I CAN'T IMAGINE ANYONE BUT THE MOST JADED PERSON SITTING THERE THINKING - THIS SUCKS. IT'S LOADS OF FUN FROM START TO FINISH. THE ONLY PART I DID NOT LIKE WAS THE GORE FACTOR IN TERMS OF WHAT HAPPENS TO DEPP'S CHARACTER IN ONE SCENE. BUT HE MADE IT WORK, AND EVEN MADE IT COMICAL FOR THE REST OF THE MOVIE. AGAIN, DEPP STEALS THE SHOW.

One of my TOP 10 favorite movies: Sheldon Jeffrey Sands is the man !
2008-03-23 - You might detect a bit of Jack Sparrows, for a moment, in Sheldon Jeffrey Sands. I love this movie. The trailers enticed me with Salma Hayek, and I had loved Desperado (Special Edition). Therefore I caught this on the big screen, then rented it...then I knew I had to purchase the film.

Oddly, I rooted for Antonio Banderas all throughout El Mariachi (Special Edition), Desperado (Special Edition), and the beginning of Once Upon a Time in Mexico...then along came Sheldon Jeffrey Sands.

Although I must fault Sheldon Jeffrey Sands for allowing his ego to overwhelm his good judgment, and his nether regions to overrule his brainpan, he is the man. A bit too smug, his Ego sometimes screws up his plans. Yet I am hoping for a comeback.

If they want us to root for "the good guy," they can't make "the bad guy" so damned cool. You just have to see the movie, and watch how SJS sets things up to watch them fall. You can purchase the trilogy: Robert Rodriguez Mexico Trilogy (El Mariachi / Desperado / Once Upon A Time In Mexico). I am hoping for a part four.

NOT QUITE DESPERADO THREE
2008-03-15 - In 1992, director/writer Robert Rodriquez released a low budget action film called EL MARIACHI. It introduced the title character, a man thrust into the role of vengeful spirit who began wanting nothing more than to play guitar. Mistaken for a hitman who carries his tools of trade in a guitar case, he eventually ends up with the case and finds himself with bullets through his hands, thus ending his career of choice. But it did set him on the path of revenge against the drug lord behind the dirty deed.

In 1995, Rodriguez adapted the movie for American audiences by making what to some was a sequel, to others the first story they were familiar with. This time around with more than the $7000 it cost to make the first film, we had the star power of Antonio Banderas in the lead role. Beginning where the first film left off, Banderas set out to kill the drug lord. Along the way he demonstrated a knack for violence and found time to romance Salma Hayek. The movie had a happy ending and seemed the last we'd see of the character.

Guess again. When someone mentioned to Rodriguez that he make the story a trilogy, he decided to do so. Thus was born ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO.

The story begins with Johnny Depp as CIA agent Sands talking to snitch Cheech Marin who's found out information for him on the whereabouts of El Mariachi. Using that information, he sends a group of thugs led by perennial Rodriguez favorite Danny Trejo. In the small town of guitar makers Mariachi has hidden away in, Trejo kills one of the townspeople in order to bring him out. After revealing himself, they murderous group take him to meet Depp.

Now stay with me here because I think I can make it a little clearer for you than it was for most viewers. Via a series of flashbacks and sideways moves, we learn that Banderas and Hayek were wed, had a child and then that the man she dumped for him, Gen. Marquez (Gerardo Vigil), came to where they had set up to take her back. When she refused, he killed her and the child and thought he had done so with Banderas as well. If that had happened there wouldn't have been a need for part three now would there?

Banderas had his revenge on Marquez, killing him. Or at least he thought so. Turns out he wasn't dead but merely wounded. Now he is about to assassinate the president of Mexico for drug lord Barillo (Willem Dafoe), The CIA wants the president out but not Barillo or Marquez in charge of the country. That's why they've chosen Banderas to take out the troublemakers right after the assassination and the coup to follow.

Storylines run throughout the whole movie with Depp convincing and ex-FBI agent played by Ruben Blades to look into Barillo (goading him on by talking of the torture Blade's partner suffered at Barillo's hands), Depp getting involved with a beautiful Mexican agent (Eva Mendes) he recruits to work on things, Mickey Rourke as an employee of Barillo who wants out, a corrupt underling of the President and more.

The story unfolds and finally by films end it makes sense, all plots converging in an all out war in the streets. Each character has a great summation to the choices they have made. And of course, should there ever be a desire to make a fourth movie, the option is there.

The only problem I had with this film was the amount of story it contained. Yes I know, a good story propels a film forward. And this story was good. But the way it is assembled leaves you spending more time trying to figure out who is screwing over who rather than enjoy the escapades on the screen. One of the best things in the first two films was their simplicity in storytelling. Good guy, bad guy, revenge, gun battles, the end. This one twists and turns too much for its own good.

On the plus side, if you like action, you'll have a hard time finding a movie that contains as much as this one does. Stunts galore, blood pumping (and popping) out all over, gunshots that literally propel their victims, knives, machine guns and more are everywhere in this film. This would not be a good movie for the tourist department of Mexico to show. And a particularly painful wounding for Depp is not one for the squeamish.

The cast does a great job. Hailed as the greatest actor of his generation, Depp turns in what seemed to me to be a merely standard performance here, filled with the eccentricities he is prone to do. The standout is, of course, Banderas. Ladies across the land will be swooning once more as he offers himself up as a Spanish James Bond, able to perform feats that no mere mortal can accomplish, looking fetching and handsome as he does so.

Banderas pulls of a look that is both smooth and violent, blending the two together as he did in the pervious film. He makes the movie, bringing a certain stylishness to the role that it needs to succeed.

While it was an enjoyable movie, it did seem a little forced at the same time. Fun to watch, but if you like this sort of thing, check out the new special edition DVD of DESEPRADO instead before seeing this one.