Machete

From Director Robert Rodriguez, Machete tells the story of an ex-federale who, after watching his family be murdered, moves to the U.S. and becomes a day laborer. After being framed for a crime he didn't commit, Machete finds himself the most hunted man in Texas, but also finds himself with a chance to make things better for his people and chance at revenge.




Machete is based off of the trailer Robert Rodriguez made for his Grindhouse movies. Apparently Mr. Rodriguez is to the point in Hollywood where he can make a movie no matter how bad the plot is. The plot to Machete is entirely ridiculous and way over the top. I, for the most part, enjoy the Grindhouse movies; however, I am not sure why Rodriguez and Tarantino have this reverence for this cinema and think it is art. These were low production movies designed to use their shock value to sell the movie. The problem with that is the shock value isn't what it used to be. In today’s theaters, movies need to stand on their own merit and, at least for this movie, there isn't much to stand on.



This would usually mean the movie would be bad, but actually, due to the cast, was very good. Danny Trejo has been in almost 200 movies and even though this is his first leading role he commands the screen every time you see him. I also found myself quite surprised by the jobs Jessica Alba and Michelle Rodriguez did in this movie as well. I have long thought that neither one of these women had any acting ability at all, yet both were very good here. Robert DeNiro, the evil senator, and Steven Segal, the evil drug lord, gave both very bland performances and obviously were just collecting a paycheck.



Overall, Machete was pretty enjoyable. It gets a little clunky at the end and kind of bogs down in the final actions set piece. Also, the battle with the drug lord is a letdown and utterly ridiculous. Overall, if you enjoyed the Grindhouse movies then you will enjoy this as well. If you didn't enjoy the Grindhouse moves, I suggest you pass.



My Rating: 2.5 Grindhouse trailers out of 5