MACHETE KILLS Movie Review: James Bond Meets Empire Strikes Back?
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- Last Updated: Tuesday, 12 November 2013 08:15
- Written by Lupe Haas
You want outrages, you go see a Robert Rodriguez flick. At this point, no one expects a masterpiece from the filmmaker, but you can expect a good time. Just knowing that Charlie Sheen is president of the United States informs you not to take the sequel starring Danny Trejo too seriously.
MACHETE KILLS comes out of the gate strong, than lags in the middle, but soon picks up at the end when Machete goes mano-a-mano with Mel Gibson’s Voz. You’ll especially enjoy MACHETE KILLS if you’re a Star Wars fan and a movie buff in general with various film references in the third act. Apart from his weapon of choice, Machete has a lot more toys and gadgets to play with in this follow-up including a light saber machete. MACHETE KILLS also has a James Bond-esque quality to it, or better yet, Austin Powers minus the goofball character, with some homage to the spy genre.And speaking of Austin Powers, Mel Gibson plays a sort of Dr. Evil as Voz in MACHETE KILLS. MACHETE KILLS sets up for a third movie in which Machete goes into space. As in Grindhouse fashion, Rodriguez teases the audience with a space fight between a man in a mask and Machete as a preview before the movie. In the movie, Mel Gibson is set up as this crazy billionaire and science fiction nut with plans to destroy Washington and colonize space. Seeing Gibson in a Star Trekkie outfit with a cape is hilarious, and he sure can play up the nutty.
The cast reads like a guest list from the People’s Choice Awards with various famous faces like Lady Gaga, Vanessa Hudgens, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Antonio Banderas, Amber Heard, Demien Bichir, Sofia Vergara and too many more to name. Other famous names are only mentioned and then killed off. One in particular that had the audience rolling was Justin Bieber.
As in usual Robert Rodriguez fashion, his one-line social commentaries are a hoot. MACHETE KILLS is certainly Rodriguez’s most ambitious film to date. More on MACHETE KILLS.
MACHETE KILLS’ Robert Rodriguez, Danny Trejo and Alexa Vega Interview
Robert Rodriguez School of Filmmaking: An Actor's Playground
