Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) - Movie Details
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| Release Date: | September 12, 2003 |
| On DVD: | January 20, 2004 |
| Genre: | Action |
| Director: | Robert Rodriguez |
| Writer: | Robert Rodriguez |
| Cast: | Mickey Rourke, Eva Mendes, Cheech Marin, Marco Leonardi, Enrique Iglesias, Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp, Willem Dafoe, Ruben Blades, Antonio Banderas |
| Studio: | Columbia Pictures |
| Official site: | sonypictures.com/movies/onceuponatimeinmexico |
| Running Time: | 101 minutes |
| MPAA Rating: | Rated R for strong violence, and for language. |
The vigilante known as El Mariachi is hired by a CIA agent to take down a corrupt general and a drug lord who are conspiring to assassinate the President of Mexico....
Full synopsis »
Movie Review
Robert Rodriguez is one of the most efficient directors in Hollywood. He directs, writes, edits and even does his own special effects, all from his home. With his fast and creative style, his low budgets almost always equal massive profits for the studios. He is also the director of Desperado, one of the best action movies ever made. And Once Upon a Time in Mexico, one of the worst. Full movie review »
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Anonymous says:
June 13, 2004This movie was one of the worsts and most likely the most laughable of 2003. I was laughing through probably the entire movie and that is the only reason that i watched the entire film. So, I would say as an action movie, this would be an F easily, but as a comedy and in laughability, then it would most likely be an A. I am not even being the least bit sarcastic in my words because at most times, I was wondering if Johnny Depp was mainly just trying to mess around and make this movie a comedy. So if you're up for a laugh, then rent this movie tonight. It was absolutely hilarious.
Anonymous says:
March 18, 2004This film was easily the best of the "El Mariachi" movies, how any one can say otherwise is beyond me. It's understandable that one might be inclined to favour the earlier films for nostalgic reasons, but if we were to judge the films on their own merits I'm sure that "Mexico" would come out on top. The diverse nature of the plot adds something to the film that "Desperado" severly lacked, and if you can't handle more than one plot at a time then that's more of a reflection on your feeble interlect as opposed to Rodriguez' expert directing. I hate CGI in films, and can always spot it from a mile away, but in "Mexico" I was almlost completely oblivious to it, which is quite something considering the amount that it was used in the film. You can't expect every film that a director makes to be the same, Rodriguez was first spoted due to his originality, and the fact that he has continued to be inivative is briliant. The acting by the majority of the cast is great, with Depp pulling of yet another stunning performance. Defoe did not feature in the film quite as much as I would have liked, but was as convincing as a Mexican as any. It frightens me somewhat that a review such as yours will prevent people from watching such a great movie. True this sort of film is not every ones cup of tea, but as far as action films go it's a must see. P.S. Next time you review a movie try concentrating on what's going on. Depp shoots the chef because the food is so good, not because it's bad, and Salma Hayek does not feature in "Mexico" all that much due to the fact that her character had died in the time between "Desperado" and it's superb sequel.
Anonymous says:
March 13, 2004Maybe there's another movie out there called Once Upon a Time in Mexico, and that's the one being reviewed. There's no way that the movie being reviewed here is the same as the one I just saw, twice. If by chance we are talking about the same movie, then this has to be the worst review I've ever read. First of all, the movie is expertly shot. While camera angles were jerky in certain shots such as the scene were Banderas shoots up Trejo and his men in the marketplace, it's a matter of effect and not sloppiness. Lighting was much better in 'Mexico' than 'Desperado', honestly. 'Desperado' had very good lighting, no lie there, but 'Mexico' just looked much better mostly thanks to HD but also because of the wonderful lighting. If one quality of this movie shined above others it was probably the Lighting and I see no way how the reviewer could have stated otherwise. Actually, what I said before was a lie. The GCI and Music easily match the lighting as they are also wonderfully executed in the movie. It's amazing how much CGI they used and how little of it was actually noticable. Namely, the only scene I can think was obviously CGI was when Hayek threw those knives in the beggining. The music was near perfect as it displayed the mood of the movie very well. Songs matched for certain scenes do just that with little effort and they interchange from one scene to another just as easy without creating and unsettling contrast within the movie itself. The style of music used, especially the Guitar, is haunting but exciting at the same time and it is certainly one of my favorite recent soundtracks. The overall sound of the movie was also well done from every gunshot to... well, more than likely gunshot. On to the more touchy part of the movie, the story. I can actually understand why a huge fan of 'Desperado' wouldn't like the story for 'Mexico'. 'Mexico' features many characters and many different plot lines creating something not seen in the other 2 movies. But why should this be frowned upon? I was very fond of it myself, and I already stated why a sentence back. It did something that the other 2 movies didn't do and feature many characters and many plots. A fragment of nostalgia is lost in doing so, perhaps, but nostalgia is only good so many times around. Had 'Mexico' been a reincarnation of 'Mariachi' and 'Desperado', it would not been nearly as good. Good, of course, but not nearly as much. There was plenty of nostalgia left in 'Mexico' from its prequels to keep it almost vintage but it aslo featured plenty of new things to keep it fresh. Freshness is something that hollywood needs and Rodriguez delivered only to be slapped in the face by fan-boys of his previous work. It's sad, honestly. Was 'Once Upon a Time in Mexico' complicated? Yes, a little. Was it worthy of carrying the El Mariachi name? Most certainly. And most important of all, was it entertaining. By all means, yes!
Anonymous says:
March 11, 2004Such horrible reviews to a good movie! :( It's not as bad as everyone describes it. It's sort of an inovation of the previous movies to make the story fit into a new reality when the world doesn't have a good guy, a bad guy and the good guy's true love. It's all about different interests. And I must say I absolutely love the characters more than I adore the plot. ;) Also the way the cameras switch is pretty fun. Try to count how many different styles you see and you'll get more than 20. A good example is when Johnny Depp's character, Sands, kills the cook. See how the blood spills on the camera? Oh and the music! AMAZING! Oh, did I mention Sands is catchy character? His lines are so sarcastic all the time! And his "disguises" are even better. The "I'm with stupid" and "C.I.A." shirts are the best! XD Please, give me movie a little more credit and stop being so mean! It seems to me that you all who said it was bad haven't even watched the movie properly. :\ That's all. :)
Anonymous says:
February 17, 2004It's a great movie for what it tries to do; namely be an action movie with a TON of stylized violence. The reviewer obviously missed this fact, as well as the fact that the movie was a send up of Sergio Leone's 'The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly' in theme and in plot. The plot mostly makes sense, if you pay careful attention, and it's frankly refreshing not to have a storyline and a background shoved into the audience's faces. Good stuff, and I wish there was more of it.