It
seems that the main objective of this
Machete sequel, Machete Kills, is similar to the
first, which is to continuously up the amount of over-the-top
ridiculousness to absurd proportions and hope that this equates to
high entertainment in an exploitative setting. Alas, after the
surprise enjoyment that was Robert Rodriguez's (Sin
City, Once Upon a Time in Mexico)
first full-length Machete effort, this one feels like stale
leftovers. Armed with an intriguing cast of actors who amount to a bit
of a novelty, Rodriguez ups the self-aware comedic quotient to near
Mel Brooks-ian proportions, but momentum falters throughout.
Machete Kills' plot involves Machete (Trejo,
Predators) recruited by the
President of the United States (Sheen,
Scary Movie 5) to try to save Washington from
destruction by stopping a plot to launch a pilfered missile linked to
the heartbeat of a Mexican drug lord (Bichir,
The Heat) -- if his heart
stops, the missile launches. Mel Gibson (Signs,
What Women Want) stars as the
billionaire tech CEO and arms dealer who may have more of a story
behind him than he appears.
Machete Kills is scripted
by first-timer Kyle Ward, based on a story by Rodriguez, who came up
with the plotline along with his brother Marcel. Though the premise
once started as a typical grindhouse endeavor, dubbed by Rodriguez
himself as Mex-ploitation, the nefarious plot from a criminal
mastermind out to destroy the world seems to spoof James Bond films
more than anything, with a music-video-style intro that further begs
comparisons. In order to facilitate some of the small roles and
cameos, Rodriguez contrives of a rubber-masked, super-assassin
character called La Camaleon (aka,'The Chamelon"), whose actors
portraying him/her change several times during the course of the film.
This R-rated excursion will likely please those who snicker
whenever the jokey scenes are punctuated by another no-name character
getting murdered for little apparent reason. Thugs' arms, legs, and
heads are chopped up by blades of helicopters and boat engines, and
Rodriguez puts even more effort into coming up with hi-tech weaponry
that includes a "Swiss Army" machete and a bra worn by Vergara (Four
Brothers, Lords of Dogtown)
that shoots out knives or bullets. While the film is inventive and
energetic, without any rooting interest in the plights of these
hyper-cartoonish characterizations, the only moments of interest come
through the gimmick of seeing the cavalcade of small roles given to a
motley crew of well-known character actors, as well as a few spoofs
on, of all things, Star Wars.
Ironically, for a film that was borne from a mock trailer in
2007's Grindhouse, this is a
full-length feature that probably shouldn't have been much more than a
trailer, as, at nearly two hours in length, it is really just a
collection of sporadically amusing moments amid a storyline that
regurgitates a plethora of films Rodriguez has already made. In fact,
if you've seen the Machete Kills trailer, you've already seen
most of the best moments of the film already, leaving about 100
minutes of filler that fails to deliver but marginal goods. Despite
the amount of second-tier stars in the film, who seem to appear mostly
because they like working with Rodriguez, this is a film that feels
too bright, digital, CGI-infused (especially all of the instances of
blood) and full of green screens to still be considered an emulation
of the old grindhouse classics of the 1970s.
While it's fun to
see an inventive director and lively cast cut completely loose from
conventions, without an interesting story to wrap all of this
craziness around, Machete Kills gives us little to feel
connected to other than the director's visual style from scene to
scene. Trimming about 20 minutes of lulls could have made this
mediocrity a bit snappier, though it doesn't overcome the fundamental
problem regarding the lack of newness to the premise or nuance to the
already-established characterizations that would necessitate a return
to the familiar story.
At the beginning and end of the film, we
see clips of the trailer for the next entry in the Machete
saga, Machete Kills Again...In Space!, and while the first
two films haven't exactly raked in the cash at the box office, given
the relatively low budget of the production (reportedly, $20 million),
and Rodriguez's ability to get interesting talent on board, we may see
Trejo in a leather vest and pants for at least one more go-round.
