Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Robert Rodriguez

Writer (WGA):

Robert Rodriguez (written by)

Release Date:

12 September 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Tagline:

The Time Has Come.

Plot:

Hitman "El Mariachi" becomes involved in international espionage involving a psychotic CIA agent and a corrupt Mexican general.

Plot Keywords:

Mariachi | Drug Lord | CIA Agent | Coup | Mexican President

Awards:

3 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Antonio Banderas	...	El Mariachi
Salma Hayek	...	Carolina
Johnny Depp	...	Sands
Mickey Rourke	...	Billy
Eva Mendes	...	Ajedrez
Danny Trejo	...	Cucuy
Enrique Iglesias	...	Lorenzo
Marco Leonardi	...	Fideo
Cheech Marin	...	Belini
Rubén Blades	...	Jorge FBI
Willem Dafoe	...	Barillo
Gerardo Vigil	...	Marquez
Pedro Armendáriz Jr.	...	El Presidente (as Pedro Armendariz)
Julio Oscar Mechoso	...	Advisor
Tito Larriva	...	Cab Driver

Also Known As:

El Mariachi 3 (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, and for language.

Runtime:

102 min | Italy:101 min (Venice Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15 | Italy:T | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 (DVD rating) | Norway:18 (original rating) | Philippines:R-18 | Poland:18 | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating) | Singapore:NC-16 (original rating) | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #38421)

Filming Locations:

Guanajuato, Mexico

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The role of Cucuy was written for Quentin Tarantino who ended up having to drop out due to the filming of his own film, Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Sands first meets the bubblegum-selling boy, the shots of the boy have been flipped - the writing on the pack is backwards.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Agent Sands: I never heard of him.
Belini: Who?
Agent Sands: The man you recommended.
Belini: The guitar fighter?

Movie Connections:

References Batoru rowaiaru (2000)

Soundtrack:

Flor de mal

Entertaining

Like "Desperado," the film offers nonstop action and a gargantuan body count. Robert Rodriguez knows how to please his audience, and the movie does work for the most part. As expected in a Rodriguez film, the action scenes are very well-choreographed and all possess a certain slickness and originality. Johnny Depp steals the show in his supporting role, and seems to be having the most fun. I actually looked at him as more of an action hero than Antonio Banderas. Then again, Banderas seems to be going through the motions. After all, he has played roles of this type many times before and is probably almost bored. I like how most of the movie is in subtitles. As I heard in the commentary, the reason for that was because most of the cast only spoke Spanish. But I'd rather see Mexican characters speaking in their native language, and having to read the subtitles, than them speaking in a second language that they obviously haven't mastered totally. Hollywood appears to have a fear of subtitles, and it's a stupid fear. Now onto what I didn't like about the movie...I'm not exaggerating when I say that it has nonstop violence. I'm not one of these people who gets bothered by excessive violence, but after a while all that action and killing can get a little dull. You just sit there waiting for the next body to fall to the ground. The story isn't non-existent, but I think if Rodriguez paid a little more attention to developing characters and story, his films might be even more interesting. But altogether, I was entertained. You don't view a film like this in the same way you view a Kubrick film. So what you see is what you get.

My score: 7 (out of 10)