Machete film review
It’s become something of a Hollywood trend lately to make deliberately B-grade movies that feel like a throwback to their genre predecessors. The Expendables was in theory (more than execution) an old school 80s action movie, Piranha 3D is vintage schlock horror and now there’s Machete, done in the style of 70s exploitation movies.
Of course, it’s risky making intentional junk cinema. Not only can the audience grow tired of the gimmick, but if a film veers too far into trash territory, that’s what it becomes entirely, with all the referential winks and in-jokes behind it fading away. Fortunately, in the case of Machete the film is much more than a simple (if sublimely ridiculous) tribute to exploitation movies. The movie also offers an amusing commentary on American-Mexican social relations. It’s these two elements combined, along with some excellent performances, that make Machete such an enjoyable experience – particularly if your movie tastes tend towards the bloody and the cartoonishly gratuitous.
For the record, Machete began its existence as a fake trailer attached to the two movies – Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof and Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror – that made up 2007’s Grindhouse double bill, a stylish nod to ultra-cheap, tasteless, thrill-centric cinema. Rodriguez had apparently wanted to make the Machete movie, with Danny Trejo as the title character, since 1993 and when response to the trailer proved so positive, the project finally developed into a full length feature.
Feeling like a Mexican mix of Kill Bill Vol. 1 and The Boondock Saints, Machete chronicles the adventures of grim ex-Federale agent Machete (Trejo) as he wanders Texas as an illegal immigrant, performing assorted filthy and dangerous jobs for money while he plots revenge against ruthless drug lord Torrez (Steven Seagal), who destroyed Machete’s life. In the process Machete has run-ins with, among others, Robert De Niro’s racist right wing senator, Jeff Fahey’s greedy businessman and two very passionate, very different Latino women – Jessica Alba’s Immigration Officer and Michelle Rodriguez’s freedom fighter.
Speaking of Machete’s eclectic cast of mostly B-grade icons – which also includes Cheech Marin, Don Johnson and Lindsay Lohan – the commitment from all onscreen really goes a long way to sell the silliness of the film. All the actors, without fail, are evidently enjoying themselves and all produce first-rate performances. Even Alba, surprisingly. Special mention must go though to Lindsay Lohan, playing up her spaced out druggie image, and Steven Seagal, with a hilariously bad Mexican accent, who pokes fun at his laid back but deadly onscreen persona. Cheech Marin, meanwhile, who portrays Machete’s wise-cracking priest brother, seems to be an especially big favourite with audiences.
Of course, while Machete features a top-notch acting ensemble, first and foremost the film is a wild, unapologetic bottom-grade action movie… with Mexican flavour. Blood sprays. Limbs and heads are hacked off in between shots of bare boobs and cheesy soft core porn interludes. Pimped up cars bounce on their modified suspension systems. Perhaps most notably, Machete is the kind of film where an extended camera focus on a carving knife, or seemingly inane discussion about the length of a human intestine, always produces a graphic payoff a few minutes later.
Machete is completely over the top, but the decision to combine the film’s trashy action with an exploration of real life social issues – such as immigration and cultural mixing – definitely makes the movie a better, more gratifying experience than Rodriguez’s Planet Terror. The latter simply wallowed in junkiness without attempting to actually say anything, while Machette’s wry social observations provide a solid foundation for the film that make it much more engaging for the audience.
Admittedly Machete does peter off a bit towards the end, largely because the electrifying title character loses his loner status going into the final battle, and is a little lost in the ensuing overblown chaos. Still though, Machete delivers all the cheap thrills it promises, and for a brainless popcorn flick, it’s definitely one of the more well-thought out and best executed films of the year.
Of course, it’s risky making intentional junk cinema. Not only can the audience grow tired of the gimmick, but if a film veers too far into trash territory, that’s what it becomes entirely, with all the referential winks and in-jokes behind it fading away. Fortunately, in the case of Machete the film is much more than a simple (if sublimely ridiculous) tribute to exploitation movies. The movie also offers an amusing commentary on American-Mexican social relations. It’s these two elements combined, along with some excellent performances, that make Machete such an enjoyable experience – particularly if your movie tastes tend towards the bloody and the cartoonishly gratuitous.
For the record, Machete began its existence as a fake trailer attached to the two movies – Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof and Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror – that made up 2007’s Grindhouse double bill, a stylish nod to ultra-cheap, tasteless, thrill-centric cinema. Rodriguez had apparently wanted to make the Machete movie, with Danny Trejo as the title character, since 1993 and when response to the trailer proved so positive, the project finally developed into a full length feature.
Feeling like a Mexican mix of Kill Bill Vol. 1 and The Boondock Saints, Machete chronicles the adventures of grim ex-Federale agent Machete (Trejo) as he wanders Texas as an illegal immigrant, performing assorted filthy and dangerous jobs for money while he plots revenge against ruthless drug lord Torrez (Steven Seagal), who destroyed Machete’s life. In the process Machete has run-ins with, among others, Robert De Niro’s racist right wing senator, Jeff Fahey’s greedy businessman and two very passionate, very different Latino women – Jessica Alba’s Immigration Officer and Michelle Rodriguez’s freedom fighter.
Speaking of Machete’s eclectic cast of mostly B-grade icons – which also includes Cheech Marin, Don Johnson and Lindsay Lohan – the commitment from all onscreen really goes a long way to sell the silliness of the film. All the actors, without fail, are evidently enjoying themselves and all produce first-rate performances. Even Alba, surprisingly. Special mention must go though to Lindsay Lohan, playing up her spaced out druggie image, and Steven Seagal, with a hilariously bad Mexican accent, who pokes fun at his laid back but deadly onscreen persona. Cheech Marin, meanwhile, who portrays Machete’s wise-cracking priest brother, seems to be an especially big favourite with audiences.
Of course, while Machete features a top-notch acting ensemble, first and foremost the film is a wild, unapologetic bottom-grade action movie… with Mexican flavour. Blood sprays. Limbs and heads are hacked off in between shots of bare boobs and cheesy soft core porn interludes. Pimped up cars bounce on their modified suspension systems. Perhaps most notably, Machete is the kind of film where an extended camera focus on a carving knife, or seemingly inane discussion about the length of a human intestine, always produces a graphic payoff a few minutes later.
Machete is completely over the top, but the decision to combine the film’s trashy action with an exploration of real life social issues – such as immigration and cultural mixing – definitely makes the movie a better, more gratifying experience than Rodriguez’s Planet Terror. The latter simply wallowed in junkiness without attempting to actually say anything, while Machette’s wry social observations provide a solid foundation for the film that make it much more engaging for the audience.
Admittedly Machete does peter off a bit towards the end, largely because the electrifying title character loses his loner status going into the final battle, and is a little lost in the ensuing overblown chaos. Still though, Machete delivers all the cheap thrills it promises, and for a brainless popcorn flick, it’s definitely one of the more well-thought out and best executed films of the year.
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