{"id":2807,"date":"2013-10-16T14:22:54","date_gmt":"2013-10-16T14:22:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/?p=2807"},"modified":"2013-10-16T14:22:54","modified_gmt":"2013-10-16T14:22:54","slug":"machete-kills-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/comedy\/machete-kills-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Machete Kills ***"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The violent, sexist silliness that is Robert Rodriguez\u2019s Mexploitation action saga Machete<\/em>, starring Danny Trejo as ex-Federale assassin Machete, is back with another equally violent, sexist, silly sequel. If you enjoyed the 2010 film, it\u2019s much the same gleeful juvenile B-movie humour the second time around. In fact, according to Rodriguez, this film was not on the cards \u2013 nor the third (Machete Kills Again\u2026 In Space<\/em>) whose trailer opens for this one to whet the appetite for more Machete mayhem.<\/p>\n

Machete Kills<\/em> goes bigger in plot and cast, distancing itself from The Network and the taco van of the first, with Machete being hired like some Mexican James Bond by a skirt-chasing President of the United States (no, not Clinton, but Charlie Sheen introduced as birth name Carlos Estevez) to save the planet \u2013 and meeting a Bond-like villain at the centre of it all (played by Mel Gibson). Thankfully, there are some hilarious \u00fcber-camp star turns to keep things ticking nicely, even though Machete often gets sidelined in the process. Never fear, though, there are still some creative killing sprees and wicked blade upgrades, along with the growling Machete one-liners that don\u2019t extend past \u2018Machete don\u2019t xxxx\u2019. These alone continue to make the big Mexican an unlikely action hero icon.<\/p>\n

The girls with their luscious locks and pouty petulance range from government agent Amber Heard to \u2018Madame\u2019 Alexa Vega and her posse of tooled-up working girls. Rodriguez sends up the typical B-movie female role a treat while giving his women characters a bizarre sense of post-feminism in their business acumen and independence, regardless of most dressing like vengeful, on-heat hussies. Jessica Alba and screen tough nut Michelle Rodriguez are present \u2013 just. However, it\u2019s Lady Gaga\u2019s debut feature role that ignites curiosity, perfectly written for her but a tad underused in this, along with the other faces that \u2018share\u2019 the role. Still, like a pop video, we are presented with Gaga snippets, like Rodriguez is testing the water with the pop diva\u2019s \u2018acting\u2019.<\/p>\n

The scene stealers that place Machete on the proverbial backseat include Sheen and Gibson who seem to think \u2018what the hell, let\u2019s just have some fun with this as how can it possibly harm our careers further?\u2019 For such a decadent attitude, there is a mark of respect. This further heightens our enjoyment of both, however drawn-out Gibson\u2019s part is at the end. Further credit goes to Demian Bichir as a kind of Statham-Crank\/Downey-Jr-Iron Man figure, the demented, split-personality villain\/mercenary Mendez. Bichir has a blast (literally) that has to be seen to be fully appreciated. Still, without the stoic, pitted-faced Trejo nearby to reflect their lunacy off, it would be a bunch of panto dames at play.<\/p>\n

Machete Kills<\/em> is a deliberately controversial \u2018cartoon\u2019 of violence, sexism and gore with dubious CGI that knows it\u2019s such and makes no apologies. \u2018Machete don\u2019t apologise\u2019 so don\u2019t expect anything else and just revel in the zaniness that throws political correctness to the wind then dices and splices it in its path.<\/p>\n

3\/5 stars<\/strong><\/p>\n

By @FilmGazer<\/p>\n

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