Machete: (September 3rd, 2010): R
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Opening Weekend Box-Office: #2 with $14,102,888
Domestic Box-Office Gross to-date: $14,102,888
Gross Revenue: $15,115,484
Budget: $20 million
Director: Robert Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis
Though many have mistakenly assumed that Danny Trejo is an unknown Hollywood name, as a character actor, I guarantee that you’ve seen him in a movie or television show before; my personal favorite Trejo character is the convict Johnny-23 from Con Air. Having made an appearance in a number of Rodriguez and Tarantino’s films, it was only a matter of time before Trejo was bumped up to a title character. Between the humor and violence detailed in the trailers, the one element that stood out involved the promise that Machete would be unlike anything audiences have ever seen before; and with a cast that ranged from Lindsay Lohan to Robert De Niro that promise seemed pretty solid. Rodriguez’ films can usually be described as offbeat, and I was positive that this newest entry wouldn’t be any different. Sure, I wasn’t expecting solid performances or a completely believable plot, but I was curious to see what Rodriguez and Trejo could accomplish with Machete.
Danny Trejo plays Machete, a former Mexican Federale whose family is brutally murdered by a ruthless drug lord, Torrez (Steven Seagal); fast-forward five years and Machete is now performing day-labor in Texas. After witnessing Machete win a street fight, local businessman Michael Booth (Jeff Fahey) offers to pay Machete $150,000 to assassinate the corrupt and bigoted Senator McLaughlin (Robert De Niro), whose platform is strongly anti-immigrant. Though Machete agrees, he is double-crossed and wounded, and now, with the help of local revolutionary leader Shé (Michelle Rodriguez) and his religious brother Padre (Cheech Marin), Machete works to gain revenge on those who betrayed him. Along the way, Machete is confronted by immigrations officer Sartana Rivera (Jessica Alba), and together they uncover a conspiracy that involves Senator McLaughlin, Torrez, Booth, and the twisted border patrol vigilante, Von Jackson (Don Johnson). With such a diverse group of characters, the film paves the way for considerable action, humor, and violence.
As the end-credits began to roll, I couldn’t help but shake my head and laugh, because even though Machete is a ludicrous film, it’s still just a fun adventure. The diverse cast of characters are surprisingly entertaining and humorous, whether Michelle Rodriguez is leading a group of revolutionaries from a taco truck, Cheech Marin is defending his church with sawed-off shotguns, or Robert De Niro is hobbling around as a bigoted senator who has just been shot in the leg. Another humorous surprise involved Lindsay Lohan, who plays Michael Booth’s daughter, a drug-addicted train-wreck who delights in posting nude pictures of herself online…oh how art imitates life. If this didn’t provide enough material to continue to mock Lohan for years, there is one point in the film where she dresses like a nun and fires a machine gun…enjoy. For action junkies, there is also plenty of gratuitous violence, as Danny Trejo not only makes full use of his machete, but he also fits a rail-gun on his motorcycle, replaces the filaments on his Weedwhacker with Bowie Knives, and uses a henchman’s small-intestines to rappel out of a hospital window. In the end, Machete is just one of those films where you have to turn off your brain, sit back, and watch the mayhem.
Considering that I expected Machete to be ridiculous, I was pretty forgiving of the negative aspects, but there are still plenty of things wrong with Robert Rodriguez’ newest film. As a character, Machete is a pretty convincing tough-guy, but there are times when he’s so quiet and expressionless that it’s a little difficult to root for him. And for an action hero, Trejo is in his mid-60’s and looks like he was beaten with an ugly stick, so it’s a little unbelievable when every female character jumps into bed with him almost instantaneously. I also acknowledged that Machete makes fun of itself quite a bit, but with the controversial subject material of illegal immigration and border patrol, there are times where the film gets a little too political and offensive. Despite the almost constant use of racial slurs, here are a few other examples: during the climatic final battle between the Mexican immigrants and border patrol, the immigrants arrive in low-riders (except for the one in the back pushing the ice cream cart) and use the hydraulics to crush their attackers…can’t be sure if that’s a clever social commentary or just racist. I’m anything but a prude, but I was still a little uncomfortable with the amount of liberties that Machete took with the core material.
With new releases Machete, The American, and Going the Distance, the Labor Day weekend box-office was full of R-rated choices, which makes the fact that each one of them cleared over $8 million impressive. And when you consider that Danny Trejo took second place when facing off against box-office veterans George Clooney and Drew Barrymore, then Machete just continues to defy expectations. Critical reviews have been almost consistently positive, and I think that has to do with critics acknowledging the ridiculous fun and humor of this newest action film. I guarantee that audiences have never seen anything like Machete, and though its far from perfect, there is still a good chance that you’ll find some part of it to enjoy.
Overall Recommendation: Medium
