Here's a film that was hyped up before it was even in production, and more than likely you know what I'm talking about, but for those who don't, I won't go into too much detail because I'm sure every critic mentions it. 'Machete' originated as a well-done fake trailer that appeared in Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino's 'Grindhouse' double-feature in 2007. Rodriguez's half of the film was 'Planet Terror,' which paid homage to the original zombie films of previous decades, while it also made fun of them. 'Machete' is very similar to 'Planet Terror' in that it never takes itself seriously (too seriously at least) but has enough entertainment value to prove itself exceptional.
To truly understand 'Machete,' you must understand Robert Rodriguez. The guy is a very peculiar director, and I say that because he seems to have two distinct filmmaking styles that are completely different from each other. One I'm not very fond of is his childish style that is used in the 'Spy Kids' films, as well as in 'Sharkboy and Lava Girl' and 'Shorts,' the latter of which I loathe. Rodriguez's other style is one that places him amongst the ranks of his pal Quentin Tarantino for his ravishingly entertaining style and attention to over-the-top-ness and violence (Don't think I'm saying that any of his films are better than Tarantino's, though, although some may be better than 'Jackie Brown.'). Surely you've seen 'Sin City,' 'From Dusk Til Dawn,' or one of the 'Mariachi' films. If you have then you'll know what I mean. These films exist in a world of their own and have laws of their own, or sometimes none at all. Their ability to break reality for the sake of entertainment keeps audiences from saying, "That could never happen," and creates a world of unpredictability that keeps us glued to the screen.
For a film running on the tagline "They fucked with the wrong Mexican," one would really have to be an idiot to take 'Machete' seriously. However, as "immature" as this film may be, do not doubt its overall value, because it's as big a film for the Hispanic race as 'Inglourious Basterds' was for Jews, meaning that beneath all of the violence and cheesy one-liners that reek of '80s action films, 'Machete' is actually very meaningful. How that relates to the seriousness of the film is up to the viewer to decide.
Danny Trejo is utterly glorious as the title character, an ex-federale who wishes to avenge the murder of his wife and daughter, although his wooden subtlety makes it seem as if their death doesn't bother him as much as it should, but maybe that shows how strong he can be. After all, he is the face of Mexico.
Rodriguez makes it apparent that there really is no central plot to the movie and that Machete "improvises" as he goes. This adds wonders to the film's unpredictability. What's so great about 'Machete' is its ability to continuously surprise us as the film unfolds, and at that point it's obvious that the action and the humor that follows it is all this film runs on. Without a plot it's extremely difficult for a film to maintain its audience, but 'Machete' pulls through magnificently.
It's almost part of the humor of the film that Robert DeNiro is the "conservative-American" villain. A lot of the characters in the movie, including Senator McLaughlin (DeNiro), are actually very symbolic of real events, people, and previous action films that have warped America's perspective of its own history. To what extent any character symbolizes something varies. For instance, Michelle Rodriguez plays She, an obvious play on "Che" Gueverra (look him up), while Machete is obviously supposed to be a symbol for Mexico's attitude towards the U.S.
The movie works as an all-out war between all of these symbolic figures, and all of the characters become so intertwined and point their guns every which way to the point that recognizing a good or bad side is almost impossible. As serious as it isn't, 'Machete' builds up to its final scene almost as well as 'Inglourious Basterds' did, but it's somewhat disappointing that it didn't live up as well. Don't get me wrong, though, it was still entertaining, but when I saw Machete running a motorcycle (with a gatlin gun strapped to it) out of an explosion, I didn't expect that sequence to last ten seconds. In fact, the entire "final battle" seemed to be just a bunch of people showing up a the same spot and shooting whoever they wanted. I suppose it's funny, like it's the punchline of a joke, but I was really confused when Lindsay Lohan (yeah) shows up in a nun's outfit and just starts firing a SMG. Who's she shooting??? Although (like I said before) the film is never meant to be taken seriously, this still wasn't the ending I had expected. I guess that goes for unpredictability. Is the conflict between the U.S. and Mexico supposed to be this messy though? Maybe so.
All in all, 'Machete' is surprisingly one of Rodriguez's best films to date, which is ironic when seeing how it originated. The action is extreme, and extremely off-the-wall, the acting is... well, appropriate, the direction in general is fantastic, and the soundtrack is pretty awesome, making 'Machete' one of the better movies this summer has offered, although I don't see it being mentioned at the Oscars.
