Cinema Verdict Review: Machete

Machete

OPENING: 09/3/2010

STUDIO: Overnight Films

RUN TIME: 105 min

ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Machete

The Charge
Yesterday He Was a Decent Man Living a Decent Life. Now He is a Brutal Savage Who Must Slaughter to Stay Alive.

Opening Statement
After producing the less than stellar Predators earlier this year, Robert Rodriguez takes the helm as director with Machete, an exploitation film with full blown Tex-mex flair. The action scenes are hilariously brutal, but the film bogs down with a story far more complicated than necessary. Had the film stuck to its guns of being pure novelty, Machete would have been a much stronger film. Instead, the mix of social commentary throughout the picture kept the entertaining parts of the film from having full effect.

Facts of the Case
Ex-Federale agent Machete is looking for work when wealthy Texas businessman Michael Benz gives him $150,000 to assassinate Senator John McLaughlin, a bigoted politician bent on closing the Texas/Mexico border. As Machete is preparing to take the shot, he realizes he has been framed by the people who hired him in an attempt to garner more support for the senator. With the help of Sartana, an immigration agent, and Luz, the owner of a taco truck who leads an undercover network of revolutionaries, Machete learns that the Mexican drug lord who murdered his wife and child is behind it all.

The Evidence
Machete begins with a bang. A big bang to big precise. The setting is Mexico, the sun is bright, and two Mexican federal agents, one of whom is called Machete (Danny Trejo), are off to save a woman from the evil drug lord Torrez (Steven Segal). Over-the-top brutality ensues as Machete opens season on the bad guys, decapitating no less than four people in the span of five minutes, three of which happen simultaneously. In the process, Machete chops off the hand of a gunman, only to use that same gun to kill several others with the hand still attached. Machete finds the missing woman lying naked on a bed, grabs her and begins the escape. After being trapped in a different room, the woman turns on Machete, stabbing him with his own knife, thereby sending him helplessly to the ground. The naked woman removes a cell phone from between her legs* and calls Torrez, who enters the scene with Machete’s wife, killing her in front of his eyes. Roll opening credits.

After the credits roll, we fast forward to Texas, where Machete is down on his luck and looking for work. The story mutates from the revenge story that the audience is expecting to a much bigger story, albeit, a convoluted one, about the difference between what is the law and what is right. Machete meets Benz (Jeff Fahey), a big city businessman who tells Machete that he needs Senator McLaughlin (Robert DeNiro) to be assassinated because his anti-immigration stance is bad for everyone. Immediately, the film begins its not so subtle commentary on the U.S. and Mexico border controversy which lasts throughout the rest of the film. My problem isn’t with Rodriguez’ view of the situation as much as the elementary way in which he went about it. DeNiro, who is probably the biggest name in the picture, gives a terribly lame performance as Senator John McLaughlin, a caricature of George W. Bush with the anti-immigration platform of John McCain, but infinitely more stereotypical than either. I understand that Machete is in the style of exploitation films of the 1970s, so the caricatures are expectedly heavily exaggerated, but the commentary penetrated the screenplay to the detriment of the picture causing the film to be bogged down with scenes surrounding a message no one wants to sit though, especially in an action movie. My suspicion is that he wanted us to take the commentary seriously, but like James Cameron’s Avatar, the silly characters made that impossible. At least Machete is intentionally over-the-top making it fun to watch. After the indulgent opening scene, I simply wanted to see Machete going nuts on people and when he was doing so, I was happy. When he wasn’t bashing peoples’ faces in, far too much time was spent with the uninteresting storylines involving the immigration officer (Jessica Alba) and the underground revolutionary network leader (Michelle Rodriguez). Ultimately, we knew the end would consist of Machete fighting Torrez, so any elaborate story was fairly superfluous.

I can appreciate that Rodriguez can direct unforgettable action scenes and that allows me to somewhat forgive the shortcomings of Machete. Danny Trejo is about the coolest looking hero to hit the screen in decades and there was no question that this guy was fully able to kick ass. In fact, I don’t recall him cracking a smile during the entire 105 minute running time and although Trejo is someone I’ve seen in films countless times, I’ve never seen him in a leading role. Trejo was perfect as Machete and I wish that the other actors had been used to the same degree, but unfortunately some of the secondary characters were lacking considerably. For instance, one of my heroes and special effects guru Tom Savini appears as a hitman, but his character did little to nothing in the film, making me wonder why he was even included. Savini’s role wasn’t a cameo because we were led to believe he would be important, but sadly that was not the case. I’m inclined to believe that Savini is a friend of Rodriguez and that’s the reasoning behind his inclusion into Machete.

Machete would have been better if it had stuck it the campy motif it started with. The trailer had everything we were expecting–guns, women, violence–and was to completely to the point. The action scenes were an absolute blast, but stretching the campy idea out into a full length movie is where it began to suffer.

Closing Statement
Danny Trejo kicking butt as Machete was worth watching, but I would have enjoyed Machete more had there been . . . I can’t believe I’m saying this . . . less story. The action scenes were thoroughly satisfying throughout the film, but the extraneous characters with their plotlines brought the film down as a whole and DeNiro’s horribly cartoonish Senator McLaughlin was too silly for a film trying to provide social commentary.

Less talk, more glock.

*Don’t hesitate to email the staff of Cinema Verdict if you are puzzled by how a naked woman might be able to store a cell phone on her body. We are here to help.

The Verdict

6/10

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