Machete

There have been a few movies this summer promising big, dumb thrills that ended up leaving me cold. Remember The Expendables, which gathered some of the great action stars from yesterday and stuck them in a generic plot with nothing to do? Or how about Piranha 3D, which had some fun with its carnivorous prehistoric fish, but was held back by lame in-jokes? Both of those movies promised over the top, stupid fun, and while they certainly got the stupid part down, the fun was lacking for me. Now, as the summer winds down, we get Machete - the movie that both of them wanted to be.

Filmmaker Robert Rodriguez (who co-wrote the film with his cousin, Alvaro Rodriguez, and co-directs alongside Ethan Maniquis) finds the balance that those films lacked. He's made a gory, over the top, violent revenge fantasy that embraces its exploitation roots without mocking them. Yes, it's in on the joke. Yes, it knows that it's bad, cheesy, and over the top. But there's none of the self-referencing humor or actors winking at the camera, like they know they're in a bad movie, like there was in Piranha. And there's no pretentious handling of the material, like he's actually making something worthwhile, like Stallone's take on The Expendables. Machete is a fun, sleazy bit of escapism, and it works on that level. It's also hysterical. The cast, which is mainly made up of B and C-listers (Jessica Alba, Cheech Marin, Steven Seagal), a rare A-lister (Robert De Niro), and a celebrity from yesteryear ("Introducing Don Johnson", the trailers proudly proclaim), get laughs due to the fact that they treat this as a real movie. They're not lowering themselves, and they're not winking at the camera. They're having fun, and so are we.

Those of you who saw the Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino production, Grindhouse, already know the story behind Machete. It started out as a fake trailer to bridge the two main attractions of that film, got a strong response from the audience, and now has been fleshed out into a full-length film. The title character (played with steely perfection by Danny Trejo) starts the film off as a leathery and noble Mexican federal agent, who refuses to be paid off by the local drug kingpin, Torrez (Steven Seagal). This puts him at odds with Torrez, who proceeds to set up a trap for Machete, where he forces him to watch his wife and daughter get decapitated. This five minute opening (the torture sequence, and the action that comes before it) lets us know right away where Rodriguez stands with this movie. The violence on display is plentiful, brutal, and would be horrifying if it didn't have all the realism of those Itchy and Scratchy cartoons you see on The Simpsons.

Flash forward some time later, and Machete is now a withered day-laborer in Texas. He's approached by an oily villain (Jeff Fahey) to assassinate a senator running for re-election with a strong stance on immigration (Robert De Niro). The senator wants to build an electric fence that will keep the immigrants out of the States. Fahey's character does not want this to happen, so the US can continue to exploit cheap Mexican labor. Of course, Machete finds out too late that it's not that simple. He is double crossed, learns that the man who hired him is working for both the senator and Torrez, and when he is framed, he is forced to prove his innocence the only way he knows how - by killing just about everyone in sight in gratuitous and over the top ways.

Machete may have a timely hook with its plot wrapped around illegal immigration, but it's not interested at all in exploring its own topic. All for the good, if you ask me. Instead, we get a lot of non-stop (and well staged) action, and some fun characters, such as a female freedom fighter who passes herself off as an innocent taco-cart vendor (Michelle Rodriguez), and Machete's estranged brother who joins him in the fight - a priest who just happens to be handy with a shotgun (Cheech Marin). On the other side of the battle are some gun-toting vigilantes led by a crooked Sheriff (Don Johnson), some drug lords, and even a hired hit man who advertises his services in an infomercial. Jessica Alba plays the female lead and Machete's love interest, while troubled star, Lindsay Lohan, turns up as Fahey's drug addicted daughter who likes to make sex tapes with her mom.

If this all sounds over the top, it is. Wonderfully so. The action is certainly not grounded in any form of reality (just wait until you see Machete use a villain's intestines as a rope to escape a building), but I found myself going along with it. There's a playful energy to the violence on display. It doesn't take itself seriously for a second, but it also doesn't draw attention to itself. I also found myself strangely drawn to the character of Machete himself. He's a classic action hero in every sense of the word. He's silent, his icy gaze could probably kill you if he wanted, he's old fashioned (he has to be taught how to send a threatening text message to the bad guys), and he drive down the street perfectly on his motorcycle while making love with a beautiful woman at the same time. With any other hero, we'd call it far-fetched. But we buy it with Machete, because Danny Trejo sells it so perfectly.

Rodriguez has promised some sequels should the film be a hit, and indeed, two sequels are hyped after the final fade out. I sincerely hope this proves to be true. I walked out of the theater wanting more, which is the best feeling an action movie like this can leave a viewer. Whether or not Machete proves successful enough for a return, Rodriguez has done what many filmmakers this summer failed to do - Make a fun, mindless action entertainment that is completely infectious and a total blast to watch.

See the movie times in your area or buy the DVD at Amazon.com!

0 comments