Directed by:
Robert RodriguezScreenplay:
Robert RodriguezCinematography:
Guillermo NavarroComposer:
Los LobosCast:
Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Joaquim de Almeida, Cheech Marin, Steve Buscemi, Carlos Gómez, Quentin Tarantino, Tito Larriva, Danny Trejo, Carlos Gallardo (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
In this continuation of "El Mariachi," a traveling musician looking for work gets mistaken for a hitman and is thereby entangled in a web of love, corruption, and death. This leads to a very high body count, involvement with a beautiful woman who works for the local drug lord, and finally, the inevitable face-to-face confrontation and bloody showdown. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (8)
This is a movie I just love. It always bothered me a bit how the best parts happen within an hour and a quarter, but there's nothing you can do about it. The fact that Rodriguez's pace didn't last until the end is probably the only problem I have with this one. Great Banderas, beautiful Salma, and excellent scenes that I simply won't forget. Both Tarantino and Buscemi rock.
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From the whole loose El Mariachi - Desperado - Once Upon a Time in Mexico trilogy, Desperado belongs to the best of what the nineties brought after Hollywood decided to take some of the shine from Spain and Mexico. There's not much to talk about here: the rough beauty of Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek, and the great soundtrack by Los Lobos and Robert Rodriguez in top form.
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An absolute classic, something that cannot be said about many films made in the 1990s, but Rodriguez did a fantastic job with this over-the-top piece. Tarantino's legendary humor, Salma Hayek, and Antonio Banderas with a guitar are just fragments of an unforgettable, often grotesque Mexican mosaic full of humor, exaggeration, and bloody action. It's simple, visually unappealing and cheap, yet attractive (Salma+Banderas), with fiery pace. A cool one-off.
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Desperado was preceded by the excellent reputation of Lemonade Joe, but frankly, it fell short of its predecessor's legacy. As it's less witty, and it compensates with more action. However, I'm not a fan of action movies, and the screenplay felt only average and, above all, uneven to me. Strong moments, especially in the second half, alternate with filler filled with gratuitous violence. To fully accept Desperado, I needed a bit more humor and wit. Overall impression: 55%.
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Robert Rodriquez is a big question mark to me. I have no doubt that he can make properly entertaining genre films that fully display his enormous passion for cinema and his talent, but then he comes with stuff like From Dusk Till Dawn, Machete or, heaven forbid, Planet Terror, and my sympathies for him slowly turn 180 degrees. Fortunately, Desperado belongs to the first group, boasting a well-written script, brilliant editing of the action scenes and above all, from top to bottom, an impeccably chosen cast, which also helps a lot. Not only the charismatic Banderas and the gorgeous Hayek, but especially the narratively underrated Buscemi, Trejo or the great Quentin Tarantino himself (his scene is one of the best ever) are the driving force that gives the story unprecedented brilliance and pace. And the playful Rodriquez just underlines everything with his amazingly specific signature, which is not and probably never will be completely free of flaws, but without it this time it just wouldn't be the same... 80%
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Gallery (107)
Photo © Columbia Pictures
![Desperado - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/158/470/158470764_dc9937.jpg)
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