Movie Review: 'Machete' has much style, despite jumbled plot

Machete (2010) Dir: Robert Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis.  Rated R for strong bloody violence throughout, language, some sexual content and nudity.

This film is currently playing in theaters in the U.S. and Orange County.

Based on a fake trailer released along with the double-feature Grindhouse, in this actioner directed by Robert Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis, Danny Trejo plays Machete, a highly skilled ex-Federale from Mexico looking for work, who is hired by a man named Booth (Jeff Fahey) to assassinate Senator McLaughlin (Robert De Niro). He is soon betrayed by his employer and he plots revenge with the help of resistance fighter Luz (Michelle Rodriguez), ICE Agent Sartana (Jessica Alba), and the shotgun-toting Padre (Cheech Marin).

This film has been referred by the producers as a Mexploitation film, a take-off of the idea of the Blaxploitation films of the 70’s. Few will argue regarding the dated quality of many of the films of this genre—I mean, they’re campy (and amusing) for a reason. Much of the love for them is steeped in nostalgia. The clothes, the graininess, the lingo, camera zooms, badly-done gore, and the extreme close-ups remind us of the time when people handcrafted everything and made the best of their low budget. Machete may not have had to work with such a low budget, but it aimed for and certainly achieved the look, style, the feel, and content of an exploitation B-movie. There’s campy dialogue, generic plot, cheesy gore, and nudity. There’s plenty of action involving blades, guns, and gardening tools. This is all done tongue-in-cheek, with unlikely coincidences and unlikely reversals. The bad guys are not too complex, just the way we would expect them in such a film.

The film starts off grainy, like a 70’s film. The drug kingpin Torrez (Steven Seagal) has killed Machete’s wife and kids. I couldn’t help but smile when Torrez, in B-movie fashion, instead of shooting Machete right there, decides to burn the building where he’s been tied up (See my review of The Girl Who Played Fire). Machete, of course, escapes through the window. Then comes the cool-looking colorful title sequence.

Danny Trejo, in his first lead role, is what makes this film highly watchable. He has screen presence. He is noticeable. His whole look and deadpan expression is perfect for this character. He is like a force of nature—nothing gets in his way. Simply, no character looks quite like him (except maybe Lobo from the DC Comics). His portrayal of Machete may not be complex or subtle, but we like his unwavering, stubborn toughness. Michelle Rodriguez is certainly not unfamiliar with playing tough chicks, and she is in usual good form here as Mad Max-style resistance fighter, Luz. The beautiful Jessica Alba, however, isn’t very convincing as a federal agent--she just isn’t intimidating. I suppose one can argue that that would make her the right fit for a B-movie (which often tends to have hot women with less-than-stellar acting). Jeff Fahey is diabolically fun to watch as the villain, Booth. Steven Seagal plays the drug kingpin, Torrez. While it’s hard to see him as a Mexican kingpin, he is generally playing a bad guy version of himself, which, honestly, is all we can ask, want, and hope for.

The action scenes are a lot of fun, especially whenever we have Machette wielding his machete against a group of baddies. He is quick. Things get bloody. Like a samurai film, limbs get chopped off and go flying with old-fashioned fake blood. The story itself is mostly silly, which involves resistance fighters, a priest turning into a shot-gun-wielding vigilante, and odd coincidences. There are also political issues abound, mainly regarding illegal immigration. Admittedly, the film doesn’t always cohesively work together with its mishmash of many scenes and gimmicks crammed in, which can make the whole feel a tad banal, thus losing some of its tension and buildup even if they may be cool to watch.

Overall, I enjoyed Danny Trejo playing Machette, and ultimately, he makes the film worthy of viewership. The fights are fun to watch. I enjoyed the quirkiness of the humor. The characters are fun. The visuals are nice. The plot tries to do many things, which I felt didn’t come together as a whole. Perhaps it's the constant pace of the film, but it felt like a series of ongoing events, which didn’t really stand out after a while--they often felt similar to each other, more visually interesting than engaging. Whatever criticism one can think up, I suppose one can always counter with “that’s how B-movies are supposed to be.” It’s perhaps true, then again, many B-movies also often came with a cheaper ticket price.

My Rating: ** ½ out of ****