Machete
Itās great to see after all these years that Danny Trejo, at 64 years of age and nearly 200 movie appearances, finally get the chance at a lead role in a film, and what a film it is, as director Robert Rodriguez apparently set out to make the most over the top, balls to the wall action film seen to date. Trejo plays a Federale (I.E. Mexican Federal Agent) who goes in rescue a kidnap victim set to testify against a drug lord (Steven Seagal), only to be doublecrossed and have his wife and daughter murdered. Three years later, as a wandering illegal immigrant in Texas, heās picked up and made an offer: Assassinate a vehemently anti-immigration Senate candidate for $150,000, or face the consequences for turning it down. Trejo agrees, only to be set up again, this time becoming a wanted fugitive who picks up his namesake weapon in order to take out the trash. The beauty of the film lies in its underlying social and political satire, as it mocks both sides of the ongoing immigration debate, with the bad guys wanting to close the border not to keep law and order but to increase profits and monopolize the drug trade (under the behest of Seagal), while the good guys are imbued with an almost false nobility about their plight as they rally around a so-called āNetworkā led by a leader named She, and declare war on the border guards who are in on the whole plan. Thankfully, Rodriguez keeps the Trejo character above that fray, making him a guy who doesnāt so much care about getting his citizenship but rather about getting revenge, using the backing of his fellow immigrants as a means to an end, and doing so in grand style. Plus one must be in awe of the top notch supporting cast brought in as well: Seagal in his first all-out villain role may be past his prime and long in the tooth, but effectively cuts loose enough to make himself a deadly mastermind; Robert DeNiro as the Senator is smartly never referred to as a Republican (instead said to be an Independent), and brilliantly epitomizes the type of āgood ol boyā politician that many of us have grown accustomed to; Jessica Alba as the immigration agent who realizes the corruption and helps Trejo is as always an angel of light in a dark environment, and a semi-nude shower scene where she shows off her awesome body doesnāt hurt either; however Michelle Rodriguez as the Network leader nearly tops her, bringing a cute sultriness to the proceedings especially when she emerges for the final battle decked out in a super sexy leather outfit; Jeff Fahey as the middleman between Seagal and DeNiro pretty much steals the show and is one of the best characters of this kind in any film, speaking in a raspy voice as he confesses to having an infatuation with his daughter and given the honor of the filmās most dignified death scene as well; Lindsay Lohan as his spoiled, drug-addicted daughter doesnāt exactly play against type, but also bares all with the nudity and plays her role pretty much like a fallen starlet who knows that her mainstream career is over; Cheech Marin as Macheteās brother (and Catholic priest) has a lot of fun as a guy with security cameras all over his church and not afraid to kick ass when the time is right; and Don Johnson as the insane border patrol guard in league with DeNiro and Seagal is probably the most frightening turn in the film, especially in his opening scene where he shoots down a pregnant border jumper because āif it gets born here, it gets to be a citizen, same as you and meā. Indeed, the film has trouble accommodating all the cool characters on hand, most notably Tom Saviniās bounty hunter who seemingly survives to fight another day. As for the violence itself, while it might not be the type of frolic you should bring your kids to, such bits as Machete using a henchmanās intestines to jump out a window or the numerous examples of heads being blown up or characters dismembered brings the film to a surreal whole that allows the viewer to go with the flow, enjoying every bit of its visceral glory, and while Rodriguez might be trying to make a political statement about amnesty for illegals, the film stays so smartly tongue in cheek that it never gets heavy-handed or ponderous, and while it might not exactly change minds on the issue (being that it glosses over the truly serious questions on the issue), it scores so many points with its hilarious nature and the little things that it gets right (such as a tied-up DeNiro hopping out of the way of an oncoming truck or one henchman who faces a weed whacker wielding Machete who simply hands him his gun, says āI quitā and walks away) that thereās no way viewers on either side of the issue can get offended by what they see here, an entertaining, creative modern action classic that will be remembered for decades to comeā¦
10/10