Stream it now Once Upon a Time in Mexico Reset Status Want to Watch Already Watched Don't Want to Watch

this is a really fun movie..

I wouldn't call this one a bad movie, but a mediocre one. And it's a shame because the script had a lot of promise, it's just that Rodriguez tried to put too much in it and it failed. Another huge problem is the fact that the mariachi is just one character in a big range of characters, he's no longer the focus. Sands, played by Depp, seems more like the star of the movie. But I didn't even enjoy Depp as much as I had thought although he wasn't bad. For me, the star of the movie was Ruben Blades, it had been a while since I last saw him having a role in a big movie. Ruben's character was pretty cool as well and for me the reason I kept watching. Maybe I'll buy this on DVD, give it another chance, who knows. But damn, Rodriguez, this could've been more, so much more. Get a new editor, you punk.

Today i went to see Once upon a time in Mexico , this time we had the hole theatre for the 3 of us since we went to the 1st session, whne we got out there was already a huge line.....good movie, the story was interesting, and the acting was good too...even Iglesias was good, he fitted in the movie...though i would have passed well without him singing...but it was just a little so it's ok. Johnny Depp's charecter was by far the better of them and "drowned" all the the other. I could really say bad things about Eva Mendes's charecter but i wont.
I had seen Desperado before i liked it but it was just an action movie( actually i rented it b/c the bad guy is a portuguese actor),Friday, i think, i started to watch El mariachi but fell asleep in the middle of it....i'll post my review later.

Afterturning this summer's "Pirates of the Caribbean" into a one man show, Johnny Depp once again amazes and astounds movie goers in this month's "Once Upon a Time in Mexico." Depp plays a corrupt CIA agent, Sands, who despite his serious lack of morals, you can't help but become attached to. He parades around Mexico with completely random t-shirts (One says "I'm with stupid" and has a had pointing downward, another features the Taco Bell Chihuahua), eating his favorite pork dish, shooting cooks and thoroughly entertaining the audience with every hilarious line. He has the viewers wrapped around his finger. And not just the one on the fake arm he sports while his real hand is under the table, prepared to shoot. Yeah, he is pretty incredible.

Oh yeah. And there is the rest of the movie. It basically divides into two parts: Johnny Depp and, well, everything else.

The point is, Johnny Depp has once again upstaged all other actors in his film. He even had me missing him in the scenes he was not a part of. Everything else felt a bit superfluous, really. He's that good.

The third and final installment in the "El Mariachi" trilogy, "Mexico" is full of action, gun fighting, and Mariachi music written by Antonio Banderas himself.

The nameless Mariachi singer simply known as "El" (Antonio Banderas) returns when Agent Sands recruits him to kill a drug lord who has made plans to shoot the president of Mexico. However, El has his own reasons for taking the job. A while back, his wife, Carolina (Salma Hayek) and his daughter were murdered by a jealous Mexican general named Marquez, who is in cahoots with, Barrillo, the man who has set up the assassination of el presidente. Sands involves several other players, who are fun, but it gets hard to keep track of them all as well as the action and the plot. Thankfully, with a run time of just under 1:40, the movie does not seem to drag.

Unfortunately, in all the extra action, Banderas, as the moody mariachi comes off to be just another one of these bit players. The only times he really lets the audience know he is supposed to be the star are the very, very short flashbacks (when he's not brooding) with Salma Hayek. The film also contains so many twists and turns that, at times, it seems as if it is trying too hard to be deep. It gets to be difficult to care.

But, despite the fact that Hayek was in there for all of ten minutes, and there was more than slight confusion, it was all redeemed by Johnny Depp who, for the second time this year, steals the show. His eccentric Sands has the perfect line for every situation and fully recaptures the attention of those who get lost and confused. Even if shoot 'em up movies are not your slice of cake, "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" is worth the cash to see Johnny Depp's stellar performance.

Overall Grade: B

Starring: Antonio Banderas, Johnny Depp, Salma Hayek.

Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) **** (of *****)

I enjoyed Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Johnny Depp was great. He delivers some great lines and Agent Sands is one of the coolest characters i've seen in a while. The film may not be perfect, but it's a lot of fun. Good cast, too. Willem Dafoe is the worst Mexican since Charleston Heston, though.

The third installment of Rodriguez's "Mariachi" series, continues in the trend of its predecessor "Desperado" with high production values and big stars. Somehow, though, it manages to retain a bit of the heartfelt pain of the first film, and make the tragedy of the situation poignant. El Mariachi's flashbacks to the death of his second lover, Caroline, give depth to his motivation. The violence balances horror with entertainment, with one particular showstopping sequence.

The guitar that is remote controlled and blows up a tank is silly, but it only lasts for a minute, so I didn't let it bother me. Unfortunately, the film still struggles to break outside of convention, and the cliche is rampant. The struggle for Mexico's government actually reminded me of "the mask of zorro" of all things.

The best character in this film is the retired FBI agent, pictured below. Everything he does and every scene involving him is gold. Too bad he couldn't be the main character.

Picked this up today. Haven't had a chance to check out all the goodies that came with it, but it looks like there are plenty.

As far as the movie goes, I was disappointed by it, but I don't know why. I didn't think Desperado was that great when I first saw it, but it grew on me some. I was hoping this would be easily better than Desperado, but it's about on par. If it wasn't for Johnny Depp's character though, I doubt I'd care about it.

Covered In Blood.
Best way to describe this movie. It reminds me of those 80s action movies. Only the acting is slightly better, the dialogue is funny because its smart, not because of one liners. And even though its just an action movie, Robert Rodrieguez makes the movie look damn beautiful, even when its covered in blood.

...is Robert Rodriguez's Once Upon a Time in Mexico, which is on sale at Best Buy this week for $15.99, but if you buy the El Mariachi/Desperado pack with it, you only pay $25 for all three movies; definitely a great buy!! I'm a big fan of Robert Rodriguez beginning with El Mariachi, which I saw years ago, and I knew then he's going to become big someday. I admire the fact that he writes, directs, and produces most of his movies, and at a lower production cost than what Hollywood studios is spending for commercial movies. All three movies have director audio commentary, which matters to me the most, in terms of special features in DVDs; if only Steven Spielberg will start doing it for his movies as well...

**.5/****

Pro: Johnny Depp. Direction, which is full of style style style.

Con: Terrible story. Mariachi becomes a subplot due to too many characters.