neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Once Upon A Time In Mexico
	Robert Rodriguez Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp, Rubén Blades, Eva Mendes, Willem Dafoe, Mickey Rourke, Danny Trejo, Enrique Iglesias, Marco Leonardi, Cheech Marin 2003		Following the release of the third chapter in his family-friendly "Spy Kids" series, writer/director Robert Rodriguez unleashes "Once Upon a Time in Mexico," the final movie in his "El Mariachi" trilogy. There, the parallel ends. El Mariachi's story is flagrantly violent, darkly comic and not for kids. He's a mythic figure with quick-draw pistols and unerring aim, defending Mexico's weak and oppressed. Played here by Antonio Banderas (the papa in "Spy Kids"), he's a virtuous, unflappable embodiment of the Mexican national character. True to his name, this wandering troubadour is as apt to wield a guitar as a gun. He's also a villain-magnet. His wife (underutilized Salma Hayek) and daughter are targeted by a corrupt general. A drug lord (Willem Dafoe) and his henchman (Mickey Rourke) scheme to kill El Mariachi; a devious CIA agent (Johnny Depp) tries to control him. Hyperbolic shoot-outs recall Hong Kong director John Woo's style. The hero's guns blaze as he defies gravity to escape harm; the bullet-riddled bodies of his enemies fly backward; things explode. But dialogue-heavy scenes and a self-indulgent air undercut this slightly-hipper-than-usual action-borne thriller. With Rubén Blades and Eva Mendes.