Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)

Directed by: Robert Rodriguez | 102 minutes | action, crime, thriller | Actors: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp, Mickey Rourke, Eva Mendes, Danny Trejo, Enrique Iglesias, Cheech Marin, Marco Leonardi, Rubén Blades, Willem Dafoe

Once upon a time, every Hollywood action movie was packed. The recipe of the A-team camaraderie, tinkering for charity and cars that fly over the head worked. Film connoisseurs were disgusted, but the cash register rang.

However, times have changed. The public became spoiled, became more critical and the genre got another kick in the Naked Gun cycle. Action films nowadays only become a blockbuster if there is a concrete threat (eg terrorism), the protagonist is an icon of his kind (Schwarzenegger) or when the sidekick role is revived (Jackie Chan). A good story is not even necessary, but a combination of the above elements is desirable in view of the great competition.

The film connoisseur, meanwhile, has come to appreciate the classic approach more and more. Of course with a wink and intelligent wisecracks, but still. Quentin Tarantino launched low-budget director Robert Rodriguez after the success of ‘Reservoir Dogs’ and ‘Pulp Fiction’. He wrote the screenplay for ‘Desperado’ (1995) based on Rodriguez’ ‘El Mariachi’, the story of a lonely Mexican flamenco guitarist who presents himself as a guerrilla fighter, looking at the spaghetti westerns with a slanted eye. It became a kind of Tarantino-lite: less chatter and more action. It was already on the verge of serious action film, but the violent humor made up for a lot.

The commercial potential of ‘Desperado’ probably also underpinned ‘Once Upon a Time in Mexico’, which has all the features of a Hollywood sequel. There is a brightened cast, dead from part one are brought to life and the hero: he’s back!. However, it no longer works. This is both due to the bleeding to death of the nouvelle violence – the genre has found its only master in Tarantino and by September 11 it is not so much fun anymore – and because of the humorless excess of the successor. It is sometimes completely unclear why and when people are shot. There is also excess in the plot. There are two storylines fighting for attention and neither of them are strong enough.

‘Once Upon a Time in Mexico’ is a disaster film, a towering inferno of violence. The great actors (including Mickey Rourke) can play their part in supporting roles, with the exception of Depp who, as a secret agent, tries to rival Inspector Clouseau and Frank Drebin and thus almost drives Banderas into the background. Enrique Iglesias, as Banderas’ assistant, is a kind of playstation shooter with Balkenende’s hairdresser. An attempt is still made to mock his reputation by portraying him as a gigolo, but that’s a no-brainer, you might say.

The question remains whether this film was worth making. Probably for the ‘Desperado’ fans at most. Perhaps the makers should have replaced Banderas, who looks like he has a chronic hangover, with Iglesias, with tennis player Anna Kournikova as Carolina reincarnated. Go to this movie on a first date with your future lover; if there is a second date afterwards, at least you know for sure that he or she really loves you.