A phony movie trailer that started as a figment of Robert Rodriguez's warped imagination has ballooned into a full-length feature inundated with gores, scores and señores.
"Machete" began as a fake trailer between the two "Grindhouse" (2007) films, a horror/exploitation double feature consisting of Rodriguez's "Planet Terror" (2007) and Quentin Tarantino's "Death Proof" (2007). "Grindhouse," and the "Machete" trailer itself, garnered so much positive buzz, Rodriguez had no choice but to extend the trailer into an unabridged movie format.
The film follows Machete (Danny Trejo), a renegade former Mexican Federale with the unique ability to slaughter adversaries at will and survive impossible odds, as he avenges the perpetrators of a perfidious plot against him and the Mexican public.
Hired as a mercenary to assassinate a jingoist Southern U.S. senator portrayed by Robert De Niro, Machete finds himself double-crossed and falls into a trap to augment public support and empathy for the senator while kindling further hatred for the Mexican immigrants in the community. Now a wanted scapegoat, Machete must enlist the help of Luz (Michelle Rodriguez), the rebellious owner of a taco van, and her "network" of Mexican immigrants in a bloody crusade against their nativist oppressors.
Trejo stars in his first leading role as the title character, portraying a stoic, brutish enforcer, who is able to kill any man and arouse any woman. Known for his prolific portrayals as the stereotypical anti-hero or common thug, Trejo is widely known for his trademarked appearance: He sports a long, wispy moustache and has a heavily scarred profile and a tattooed, bulky physique.
Though his first leading role is long overdue — he's 66 years old — his depiction of Machete is adequate but is at times vapid. Co-directors Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis give their hero little room to add any meaningful dialogue and even less room to build an emotional connection with the audience.
Aside from the action sequences and occasional perverse humor, "Machete" has little depth. The film lacks a coherent plot, instead confusing the viewer with excessive twists and turns in a feeble attempt to ensure progression.
Yet the target audience is not one that yearns for logic and profundity, but rather for hyperbolic action and caricatured carnage. The film exudes ridiculousness, making some moments — such as a scene where Machete disembowels an unsuspecting henchman with a makeshift, mace-like weapon composed of hospital scalpels — not only bearable, but enjoyable too.
With their B movie-Mexploitation tribute, Rodriguez and Maniquis pay homage to a genre deemed obsolete and largely dormant since the '70s.
The duo intentionally pairs subpar special effects with ludicrous plotlines in order to revive past film culture and give "Machete" an almost artful appeal. The movie, for example, opens with Machete ramming a car into a building, scalping tens of gun-toting hostiles and stumbling upon a divine nude woman on a bed.
The film's music complements its exaggerated plotlines. Tex-Mex rock group Chingon supplies a fitting soundtrack with its mariachi-infused heavy metal accompaniments that hark back to the oafish hair bands of the '80s.
Meanwhile, the casting of the film is a true mark of mastery.
Adorned with a Stetson and exuding a corn-fed demeanor, De Niro shines as the bigoted Sen. John McLaughlin, a man whose campaign signs feature Uncle Sam with the slogan, "I WANT YOU To Speak English!"
The ensemble also features Steven Seagal, donning a comical accent as the Mexican drug lord Torrez, and Lindsay Lohan. Though Lohan is not normally known for method acting, here she plays a character more often associated with her name: an adolescent socialite with a penchant for drug abuse and a tendency to post risqué pictures of herself on the Internet.
Yet the two best performances come from an unexpected pair: Cheech Marin and Jeff Fahey.
Marin has long been known as half of the cannabis-influenced comedic duo Cheech & Chong, but few would ever picture the funnyman as Machete's priest brother, a character whose holiness is matched only by his shooting skills.
Fahey, an actor unknown except to "Lost" (2004-10) fans who know him as Captain Lapidus, portrays Michael Booth, a devious businessman and McLaughlin advisor who cons Machete and puts out a hit on his own boss. With slicked locks and a venomous, whispering voice, Fahey so starkly resembles exploitation-era antagonists that each word he hisses transports the audience back to the days of "Shaft" (1971).
Anchored by an adept cast and an innovative cinematic style, "Machete" is definitely an enjoyable ride. Though not a markedly political statement, the film resonates as a testament to the border battle still unfolding in Arizona and other parts of the United States, while simply oozing with entertainment value and pure, untainted fun.
