Machete – 2*
There’s been an eager wait by fans for this film’s release, since it’s ‘fake’ trailer featured in Quentin Tarantino & Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse that starred its charismatic and craggy-faced lead, Danny Trejo, back in 2007. Now Machete in full form has finally arrived, having been conceived years before the former, and Rodriguez and co-director Ethan Maniquis’ latest Latino laud certainly does what the directors say; gives us a true Mexican hero (or three).
But there’s also an overwhelming sense of déjà vu as the same old format from the likes of Desperado is peddled out yet again, accumulating in the ultimate claret wipeout at the end. Even Trejo stays true to his previous character’s style, wearing his blade-carrying leather waistcoat over his muscular, tanned and tattooed skin as Machete, a legendary ex-Federale who’s framed and out for revenge for his brotherhood. It’s also hard to say if Rodriguez and Maniquis meant their film to be a pastiche as it pokes fun at times then takes itself too seriously at others.
That said Machete is like witnessing a hormonal juggernaut of seething resentment aimed at the usual suspect: the big bad USA – and we have to say, the whole border issue is getting a tad tired in such films when there are bigger socio-political, drug-related issues now affecting the region that could have made a better plot.
But this is not Traffic, and in the directors’ defence, what they deliver is the revolutionary, comic-book-style fantasy of putting wrongs to rights: It’s what Rodriguez’s films are all about; guns, gadgets, fire power, beautiful Latinas, religious symbolism and the token drug lord. So, if this is your bag, you’ll certainly not be disappointed with this latest bloodbath set on the Mexican border with Texas. And any excused to bash the evil workings of the US of A seems to get the audience on side in a heartbeat. These factors are the key draw of Rodriguez’s films, along with passionate-cum-deadly panto characters to love or hate.
What’s also in Machete’s favour is a highly impressive cast to help its box office case in Robert De Niro as ruthless and slippery Senator John McLaughlin, Jessica Alba as stunning immigrations officer Sartana Rivera, Steven Seagal as Mexican drug kingpin Torrez, Michelle Rodriguez as (yet another) hard-nut revolutionary called Luz, Jeff Fahey as ruthless businessman Booth, Cheech Marin as gun-wielding Padre Cortez, and Don Johnson as twisted border vigilante Von Jackson. Oh, and Lindsay Lohan plays Booth’s floozy daughter, turned vengeful nun – a thrilling addition to the line-up. Each character brings their own tour de force to the film, with some stylish framing in parts. However, this is also Machete’s dilemma, as it feels unevenly paced and bitty at times, as though the directors have got a bit carried away in trying to impress us with the characters, to the detriment of any intriguing plot.
Trejo needs no coaching in how to play bad effortlessly, having spent some of his life in jail for violence. What’s good to see this time is genuine warmth to his latest character that Trejo expertly projects in few words. Machete the anti-hero is the ultimate dichotomy, both trustworthy and untrustworthy, gentle and violent etc. Trejo has the ominous screen presence to pull it off; complete with a fascinating face you could spend hours navigating.
Fahey is surprisingly good as the villain of the piece, even upstaging the likes of De Niro and Seagal (the latter making little impact, to be honest). Johnson makes an astonishing transformation as the bigoted Von Jackson, possibly finding a new ‘bad guy’ niche in his career? Indeed this film is all about praising the B-movie Edam in large gooey dollops, and nothing should be taken too literally. What is controversial is some of the violence against women, like the shooting of a pregnant woman on the border, or Booth’s unhealthy interest in his daughter that some may take umbrage to, regressing the progress made in female film portrayal. Nevertheless, the fighting women in the film (Sartana and Luz) give as good as they get, so there is some sort of off-set at least.
Machete is a distinctive Rodriguez’s trademark, albeit not as imaginative as first expected, but entertaining all the same, with a cast worth watching. It does suffer from two-dimensionality and stereotypical clangers that could have been avoided with a little more thought, but it definitely bangs the controversial gong with its glorified violence and one scene with a hospital escape via human intestines. There are also some lines crimes against film-making that depending on your mood, will have you viewing co-writer Rodriguez as a jest genius or a parody pariah. Should Machete have stayed as an iconic Grindhouse trailer? Only Rodriguez fans can really judge, or really care. The rest of the audience will enjoy the big-name stars hamming it up in style.
2/5 stars
By L G-K
