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Johnny depp's acting brightens the film!!

This film was an unforseen sequel of desperado and it was a clever plot set out by the director. It is action packed with loads of twists that will keep the average movie lover happy but alot of people in the cinema didn't like it cause they found it too gory and complicated. The only draw back of this film was that two guys that initially died in desperado were used in this sequel and given different identities.I personally liked this film alot as it has it all - great cast, good acting, loads of action, thriller and some good jokes. Johnny depp is an amazing actor and i am looking foward to see more of his work as i can't get enough of them.

Really underrated

Of all movies of the 'El Mariachi' series, I liked this one best. Yes, the action scenes are ridiculously overdone and unbelievable. They are meant to be. I mean, come on - the previous movies featured flamethrowing guitar cases and almost bulletproof knife throwers, that should give you an idea of how much realism you can expect in the third part: None at all.The action is meant to wow, entertain and amuse you. The dialogs were written to sound comical-cool, not to win Oscars. The villains are unduly bad and the heroes are... well, they aren't much better than the villains (at least that much is realistic). It's a crazy tale of revenge and senseless violence; like all tales or legends it should be taken with a grain of salt and a doubtful grin.The story is more complex and less of a no-brainer than in the previous parts, but nonetheless easy to follow. Even folks who don't entirely grasp the storyline will surely enjoy the violent action scenes (perhaps especially those folks). The movie is also less centered on (anti)hero El Mariachi, but a superbly acting Johnny Depp in the role of a more-bad-than-good guy more than makes up for it.Only the lack of scenes with Salma Hayek is a little disappointing, at least for the male part of the audience (not that movies like this had much of a female audience). Mickey Rourke and Eva Mendes also get little screen time, but both of them excel at what they do best: Acting smug & cool (Rourke) and looking pretty & tough (Mendes).Conclusion: A hotpot full of crazy stunts, lots of violence, bloody revenge and gorgeous girls with weapons, artfully seasoned with the Depp coolness factor and top-notch CGI effects - if that meets your taste, you have to watch this piece. Since the rating for this genre is capped at 7 in my cinematic world view, it deserves a solid 7 stars.

El Hollywood

Despite the expected elements of shoot outs, guitars, and American actors parading around as Mexican drug lords fixated on killing el mariachi, Once Upon a Time in Mexico has definitely shedding its roots of the original El Mariachi film, and become another flashy Hollywood flick. Replacing the low budget emotional shooter and unknown actors with fireworks and big Hollywood names.Yet as a standalone the film still has its charms. The abundance of characters all fighting for or against a revolution can get confusing but keeps the plot from reverting back to the now stale vengeance story of the two previous installments. Johnny Depp definitely gave a great performance and Enrique Iglesias wasn't as horrible as you would expect.Overall the plot tries to give a political message which gets over shadowed by the shoot outs, roster of Hollywood names, and the fact that you cannot take any of the characters seriously. So if you forget the message its actually an enjoyable action film, that is if you don't get lost.

Colorful, but incoherent

ALLEGEDLY moved to complete his "trilogy" of El Mariachi movies by his friend, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez has thrown everything into the cauldron for this overspiced finale. As well as looting his own earlier films, he plunders material from John Woo's seminal hitman movie, The Killer, Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch and more spaghetti westerns than you can grate Parmesan over. The result, not surprisingly, is a vivid, colourful and utterly senseless mess.
El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas), reduced to "El", is brought out of retirement by corrupt CIA agent Sands (Johnny Depp) in order to sabotage an assassination plot against the president of Mexico arranged by drug kingpin Barrillo (Willem Dafoe). El agrees, in order to avenge himself against Barrillo, who was responsible for the deaths of his wife (Selma Hayek) and their daughter. Caught up in the miscellany of twists, turns, betrayals and double-crosses are revolutionary agents, a former CIA officer (Ruben Blades) and hitpersons, including the pneumatic Ajedrez (Eva Mendes).
All of this is redundant, though, as the narrative is subjugated by a welter of slowmotion bullet ballets as El and his Mariachi buddies shoot their way through a series of encounters with bad guys, badder guys and really, really bad guys. The pleasures here lie in nuggets of dialogue ("Are you a Mexican or a Mexican't?"), the shootouts, car crashes and explosions, the presence of Mickey Rourke as Barrillo's chihuahua-toting sidekick, and Depp.
Johnny steals the movie in a performance that keeps faith with itself, while including a series of wicked impersonations of, among others, Marlon Brando and Chow Yun-Fat. He risks visual gags that only the most gifted silent comedians could have pulled off - especially in the latter stages when, blinded by the really bad guys, he stumbles like Oedipus through the carnage, bumping into window-ledges and shooting in all directions. He manages to keep the staggering violence at the level of just palatable farce, especially when armed hilariously with an additional prosthetic limb.
Perhaps Rodriguez, as writer/ director/editor/composer, would have benefited from delegating some responsibility, particularly for the script. A succession of set pieces, however vivid and colourful - plus all the religious symbolism of the Catholic church and the Day of the Dead celebrations - will not alone make a coherent movie. And this is far from coherent.

It Mexi-can Do the Job

*Note this review contains information revealed a whopping 20 minutes into the movie*Once Upon A Time In Mexico (2003) Action Starring Antonio Banderas, Johnny Depp, Ruben Blades, Willam Dafoe, Eva Mendes, Mickey Rourke, Enrique Iglesias, Selma Hayek, Cheech Marin Rated R/18A for Violence & Some LanguagePlot: 2/2.5: The plot starts out with CIA Agent Sands (Depp) looking for an aide to help him bring down a criminal. He finds that aid in El Mariachi (Banderas). Mariachi was attacked by a corrupt general long ago, and that general took vengeance and killed his wife (Hayek). That general is involved with the criminal, Barillio (Dafoe), whose cartel is planning to take over Mexico. Mariachi is told to find a team (his brothers, one of whom is Iglesias), while Sans recruits an FBI aide (Blades), whose partner was tortured and killed by Barillio. One thing leads to another, and you lose and gain trust in all the characters. The plot is kind of jumpy, and isn't necessarily strong, but enough to get an over 50% grade.Action: 2.5/2.5: The action here kicks ass. Some of the better scenes are in the church and a big chase in a small Mexican village. It isn't an Old West period movie like I thought it was supposed to be. It is modern, and has some sweet weapons. Nice work.Acting: 2.5/2.5: Dafoe is his normal good, Banderas is his normal good, Mendes is her normal good. Depp, just like in Pirates of the Caribbean, is phenomenal, though he has slightly less to work with then his wacky antics in Pirates. Iglesias joins the Bad Singers, Good Actors club along with Jennifer Lopez (well, she's a better actor than singer) and Will Smith (who kicks butt as an actor). Overall, brilliant acting.Entertainment: 2.5/2.5: Good action, decent plot, superb acting. If you can take some action without criticizing it, see this movie. I can see how more serious critics will hate some of the slightly over the top action, but overall, it's good.Bonuses: +.2 for the arm: Great trick by the CIA agent. He has a fake arm and uses it to look like he's having dinner while he really has a gun under the table. NICE! -.1 for this: one action scene has Hayek & Banderas chained together and their avoiding bullets. Not a single one hits them. Just doesn't make sense because they're positioned like sitting ducks.Total: 9.6/10: See this movie, you won't regret it. It is a sequel to El Mariachi and Desperado, in case you didn't know. Definitely a must see.General Rating: 4½ stars

Run quick, save yourself.

This movie was such a waste of time. It gets a half star for having semi-decent shootouts and another for a great perfomance by Johnny Depp. Personally though, if you want gunfights you'd do better by renting a John Woo film. By the way whose idea was it to give Enrique a gun. With that said rent at your own risk.

Better than Desperado! Depp is better here than in POTC!

I was amazed when watching this movie. The film I have to admit is more stylish than "Pulp Fiction" and "Kill Bill". There is alot more action and suspense (well not a lot of suspense). Johnny Depp up until recently, never struck me as an awesome actor. He was alright, but not the best. He was good in Edward Scissorhands but he was horrible in Sleepy Hollow. In "Pirates of the Caribbean" he was great, but in "...Mexico" he is amazing! He really is a talented actor. Antonio Banderas as usual is brooding as usual. He doesn't really do anything special except in the gun battles. Salma Hayek, oh!! don't even get me started on her! Apparently if I remember correctly she lived at the end of Desperado (correct me if I'm wrong) but also apparently she has died in between Desperado and ...Mexico. So she is in here only for the sake of flashback sequences which sucks! I was expecting a better performance! I was disappointed, but I didn't let that small factor dampen my spirits. On another level, the gun battles are really cool, but are a little too fake, like when people go flying in the air from being shot, it seems too unrealistic! Overall, this is a good way to spend 1 hour 40 minutes, but if you're looking for another Salma Hayek sex scene like in Desperado, watch Desperado again because there is no sex or nudity in this movie which is a good thing because it would have ruined the movie. watch this movie now!

A highly enjoyable experience, although the parts don't form a complete whole.

"Once Upon a Time in Mexico" is the third (and final?) installment in director Robert Rodriguez's guitar-toting gunman series that began with "El Mariachi" in 1992 and continued with "Desperado" in 1995. Although knowing of the prequels is an advantage, you mustn't have seen either previous movie to enjoy and understand this one, because flashbacks sum up the necessary information.The opening credits of "Mexico" label it as a "Robert Rodriguez flick." That's the best way to sum up this movie. Had everything not been the product of one man, the diversity could have easily killed this movie. But all aspects of the film (except the story) mesh seamlessly to produce a piece that is much more enjoyable than it should be.The plot can be succinctly described as convoluted. Sands (Johnny Depp) enlists the help of El Mariachi (Antonia Banderas) to prevent a coup d'etat led by General Morales, who is also Banderas' arch-enemy, having killed his wife (Salma Hayek) and child. That's the simple part, but throw in a stellar supporting cast including a drug lord (Willem Dafoe) and his bodyguard (Mickey Rourke), a former FBI agent (Ruben Blades), a thug (Danny Trejo), another government agent (Eva Mendes), and a couple other mariachis (Enrique Iglesias & Marco Leonardi), and you have enough crazy relationships to fill an episode of Melrose Place. Thus, trying to accurately follow and explain the entire plot during an initial viewing is nearly impossible. That is frustrating at times, but thankfully, "Mexico" is the rare flick in which following the intricacies of plot isn't crucial to enjoying the movie.That is because "Mexico" is the best looking movie (not part of an epic trilogy) since 2001's "Ocean's Eleven". Rodriguez, who serves as director, editor, composer, cinematographer, and many other roles, paints a brash, bold, colorful world filled with brash, bold, colorful characters. Using broad brushstrokes, he sets the viewer in the midst of a nearly comic-book-style small desert town in Mexico. Each character there has an individual agenda that considers other people only as means to an end. This seems like a recipe for a disjointed film, and to some extent it is. But the individual scenes are so deliciously fun that you won't care until you try to piece things back together afterwards.Each scene works because of the superb casting and the ensuing quality performances. Every actor looks the part to a tee, and in a movie that wastes little time with exposition, that is very important. You know exactly who Antonio Banderas is after about ten seconds. His brooding demeanor and his reluctant movement tell you all you need to know. Likewise with the again impressive Johnny Deep. His words and attire quickly inform of his off-the-wall yet not-to-be-trifled-with character. Salma Hayek is stunning and deadly, but also quietly injects a necessary dollop of heart into the film. Rourke, Trejo, Dafoe, Blades, et al...they all slide effortlessly into their parts. With all the chiseled but smooth facial features present here, one doubts Rodriguez could have sculpted his actors more perfectly had he tried.But just as importantly, these actors are also talented. Nearly every role could easily be a one-note character, but the veteran cast does more than that. The parts still aren't fully fleshed out three-dimensional characters, but that isn't what is required either. In such a wild world, two dimensions are sufficient, and those are provided by nearly everyone.The music is as blatant as the rest of the movie. Scored by Rodriguez, the strings and horns blast at appropriate times, yet manage not to be melodramatic or over the top, rather matching the film's daring attitude. The cinematography shines as well. Using a variety of crane shots, lenses, and transitions to frame beautiful people and places, Rodriguez concocts a visually kinetic film that is constantly in motion without annoying the viewer.The visual effects are also pure Rodriguez, which is both good and bad. Rated R for strong violence, "Mexico" earns its rating time and time again as men are blown ridiculous distances by bullets and explosions. Over the top? Yes, but somehow they almost seem possible in the portrayed world. At times though, the higher budget effects do conflict with the guerrilla filmmaking that characterizes much of the rest of the movie. More money (a $30 million budget in this case) often eliminates the need for the creativity that was omnipresent in "El Mariachi" ($7,000) and sometimes lacking in "Desperado" ($7 million).Bottom Line: Flashier than its predecessors. Less charming than the first. More complex than the second. Worth seeing for the filmmaking alone. More enjoyable than it is good. 7 of 10.

Johnny Depp - the only saving grace

This movie was bad.I mean really bad. We're talking "Batman 5, Return of the Riddler starring Jim Carey as the riddler and Cheech Marin as batman" kinda bad. I literally wondered if I feel asleep during it and missed some integral part of the plot. The movie is glorified violence, which I'm usually okay with, but it was just not worth seeing.My 2 cents

boring and a waste of time !

desparado was way more entertaining ! this was so hyped up and sadly enough i spent $ 29.99 for this at the video store . zoro was even more enjoyable. pirates of the caribbean was great because of depp and he was good in this film too but the movie wasn't close to what i expected.

"Well, frankly, because you've got nothing to live for."

Once Upon a Time in Mexico is not challenging cinema. Thirty years from now, I can pretty much guarantee you that your descendents will not be watching it in film class. It will probably not win any Oscars this year. Go see it anyway.

Once Upon a Time in Mexico is a fun, funny, thoroughly enjoyable action movie with a lot of great little cinematic touches that make it well worth the watching. It's absurdly violent, impossible to follow, and occasionally a little silly, but the sheer adolescent glee of Robert Rodriguez running from set piece to set piece with his digital camera shouting, "Look at this! Look at this!" was more than enough to win me over. It's one of those movies that you'd really like to tell your friends about, but if you take the time to describe the best parts, it will sound ridiculous.

The performances are all about what you'd expect, except from Johnny Depp, who plays a sleazy CIA operative with an appalling zeal and wit, and is ultimately the best part of the movie (see? Sounds silly, doesn't it?). Depp is one of those great actors who plays every part like it's Oscar bait, and this is one that no one else would have played quite so enthusiastically. Antonio Banderas is jut-jawed and implacable, Salma Hayek is vampish and lovely, and Willem Dafoe gives a very good turn as a very bad drug lord.

The violent content of the movie is extreme, even for someone who considers himself pretty jaded. If I have one complaint in that department, it's that Rodriguez confronted me with some really disturbing images and didn't give me time to get over them before leaping happily into the next big thing. Be careful who you see this one with.

Overall, if you like a good action movie and have a high tolerance for... creative violence, go see this one, but be warned that the opening credits bill it as "A Rob Rodriguez Flick," not "A Roman Polanski Film."

Shoot 'em up -- on high-def

Robert Rodriguez never tires of spreading the gospel of economical, common-sense filmmaking. Need an inferno on the cheap? Here's a guy who literally knows the meaning of bang for the buck.

"Mexico" and some of his other movies on DVD offer "10 Minute Film Schools" for viewers who just want the big picture. For the film savvy, there are detail-packed commentaries and no-b.s. bonus features. People who dig deep into the extras don't just want to hear about the production, he figures, they also want to get out and make a movie for themselves. You get the feeling he'd be hurt if they didn't.

Rodriguez spends devotes much of his commentary time on "Mexico" talking up high-definition tape filming, which he says allows directors to work "at the speed of thought." He has no interest in returning to the "crude technology" of celluloid. "The only reason you would shoot film is for nostalgic reasons." He reels off the advantages in a separate 13-minute speech called "Film Is Dead."

"Once Upon a Time in Mexico" looks great on DVD, the images looking almost ... film-like. The Dolby Digital audio packs plenty of firepower, with percussive lows and frantic soundstages front and rear.

"Mexico's" other extras are worth checking out, especially the deleted scenes (Rodriguez says he'll finish good sequences just for DVD -- who wants to watch work prints?). In the "10 Minute Cooking School," he cooks up the pork dish that so obsesses Depp's loopy CIA agent in the film.

Part-time composer Rodriguez does a second commentary in which he isolates the film's score and sound effects, playing a few demos and telling listeners when to chapter-skip past the boring parts. His makeup effects pals at KNB FX break down some of the film's main gags in a 19-minute docu. A making-of featurette tells the history of the Mariachi films (this is actually the fourth film; the third just never happened).

Columbia, unfortunately, begins the DVD with several ads for upcoming films that have to be watched or bypassed each time the disc is inserted.

Movie good, extras even better...

I like the featurets included in the DVD. The director takes you to his home/studio and shows you his soundmixing equipent and breaks down a few of the effects. He also does a short teaching you how to cook a Mexican dish eaten in the film. Anybody who has any interest in filmaking, or cooking will like the bonus features.

WARNING ZONE 1 ONLY

IF YOU HAVE A DVD THAT IS FROM OUTSIDE THE US - REGARDLESS IF YOU HAVE MOVED TO NORTH AMERICA THIS DVD WILL NOT PLAY ON A MODIFIED OR NON-ZONE 1 DVD PLAYER. INSTEAD IT GIVES YOU A MESSAGES THAT IT WORKS FINE BUT WILL NOT PLAY ON A MODIFIED DVD PLAYER. HOW FREAKING ANNOYING.

Jonny Depp is back......Sorry....Antonio Banderas is Back.

I say this in the title simply because Depp steals the show. Everyone, they all did a great job, didn't come close to Depp's portral of Agent Sands. He is the movie and everyone else is along for the ride.

OK let me explain the plot. This person is double crossing this person, who in turn wants to be with this person and to have this one thing at the end. But this other person double crosses this person because they have a diffrent agenda while the lead only has revenge to look foward to. This complet different person hires this other group of people kill this other group of people, only for things to backfire.

With me so far? So the plot is little bit muddled. Who care!?!?! It's an action movie. And the action flies high and fast. At the core Banderes and Hayak sees most of the action largly due to some rather crazy and over-the-top flashbacks. The action is where this movie is at. This is the only place you can see someone change directions in the air due to a well placed gunshot blast to the chest. Very nice.

This isn't to say the script is completly bad. The movie has its share of great lines and dialoge, just that takes a back sent to the action.

The disc is very nicely done. (A preview of Hellboy is even on there. One of my must sees for the next year.)On it you will also find:

Commentary by director Robert Rodriguez
Music and sound design track with commentary
Ten Minute Flick School
Ten Minute Cooking School
Eight deleted scenes with optional director's commentary
Inside Troublemaker Studios
The Anti-Hero's Journey
Film Is Dead: An Evening with Robert Rodriguez
The Good, the Bad, and the Bloody: Inside KNB FX
DVD-ROM: Test your wits in the shooting gallery

Rodriguez always has some of the best commentaries. Given inside stories and how to's he is always a joy to hear. I would've like to see a DTS track on it since the Superbit Desperado kicks it into the next level, but I really can't complain. The DD 5.1 mix on Desperado set a bench mark with DVD sound and this one quickly follows suit.

This is a good action movie and a great conclusion to the "El" Trilogy.

BANDOLEROS

Loud, in your Face, dripping with attitude, Richard Rodriquez's "One Upon a Time in Mexico" smacks you in the head and ears but not too often on your brain. But what other movie (besides Pirates of the Caribbean) can boast an over-the-top, Marlon Brando-ish circa The Godfather performance by Johnny Depp? And what other movie has Depp spending the last hour of it with Theater-of-the Absurd representational bloody eye sockets and cheeks a la Oedipus? Not too many, I would think.
El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas) is brought in by the CIA to save the President of Mexico from assassination. Along the way we have the FBI, drug lords, revolutionaries and Enrique Iglesias pouting through most of the movie. Most of it doesn't make too much sense but the Mexican locales are gorgeous and Rodriquez knows his way around an action sequence.
So, just sit back and let the wild colors, explosives and gun play just wash over you. Take a big bag of Carne Asada Tacos and bottle of Tequila and some of your wilder friends and just hoot and holler your way through this crazy, funny movie.

Don't expect Desperado 2

The first 5 minutes were like Desperado, the rest... was not. There are a lot more characters and storylines going on in this one which is fine but that meant Antonio's Mariachi became sidelined as only one of many things going on. And Hayek barely has any screentime only appearing in flashbacks! If you're a fan of Desperado, then the movie you wanted to see only appears in the flashbacks.Mostly I was disappointed by the fight and action sequences. They were either too short or not memorable. There was far too little creative choreography to satisfy what I was expecting. The Bar scene shoot out in Desperado was an exciting fun dance. No fun dance here.I can appreciate that Rodriguez wanted it more epic, but I'm afraid the result came off too much like any other standard action flick (somehow mixed with a political thriller). It was okay, but I was too much expecting another Desperado.

C.I.A. Agent Sands

During the first half of the movie I was confused of if he was good or bad. And even though Antonio was supposed to be the lead, it seemed like Depp was. I was frozen with confusion for ten whole minutes when what happened to his eyes happened. That's all I'm saying becuase it is both upseting and inappropriate. But at least he lives.

a kick-ass movie.

this movie was crazy-awesome. if you like lots of action and good-looking people, that is. the star-power in this flick is amazing, and the cast kicks ass as much as the stunts do. a must-have for all action lovers.

oh, dear, back to baby films please

I do not expect anyone to pay money to see a film obviously shot on video at the cinema, and certinaly no reason to pay to see such a crappy storyline, Johhny Depp doing Another role with no focus or control, (please, Johnny, take the medication), but also so sloppily shot. The BIGGEST dissapointment of the year. I would much more like to see Spy Kids 4. This was onr of the worst films of the year. Come back, Michael Cimino, all is forgiven.