A mediocre follow-up to a great independent film. It takes the original gritty format that El Mariachi used, and turns it into a bog-standard action film that feels more like a juiced up remake than a genuine sequel.
The story of the film is mostly identical to El Mariachi, but its status as a sequel raises questions that weren't there in the original. The Mariachi (Antonio Banderas) is supposed to be avenging his dead girlfriend, right? So why is he so comfortable sleeping up another woman in his quest for revenge? What about Navajas, the knife-wielding hitman (Danny Trejo), and his overall unimportance to the plot? And for that matter, even the premise of the film is flawed! The Mariachi is after a guy named Brucho (Joaquim de Almeida), but he's not even directly responsible for his girlfriend's death in the first place! The story is all over the place.
I also had problems with most of the performances in the film. Antonio Banderas is cool, sure, but his performance as the Mariachi was dull, and unsuiting for the everyman type persona that Carlos Gallardo carried with the same character in El Mariachi. Salma Hayek is very nice to look at in the film, but her character Carolina serves pretty much entirely as eye candy - especially during the gratuitous sex scene. And as already mentioned, Danny Trejo's presence in the film was entirely pointless. The closest thing to an enjoyable performance in the film is Quentin Tarantino's, and to be fair to the guy, that joke about pissing everywhere was pretty damn funny. And Steve Buscemi's performance is so inconsequential to the film that it's almost worthless bringing him up (to be fair, he did alright).
Desperado isn't completely without hope. The style of the film is very slick and cool, almost like John Wick 20 years before John Wick did John Wick. The music is incredibly fitting and nice to listen to. The action is well choreographed and entertaining. And the film has a few moments that do stick out as being really well done. Hands down, the best sequence of the film is when the Mariachi is trying to load his gun to assassinate Brucho without making a sound. It's very tense, well shot, and well acted. The film holds up on an entertainment level, that's for sure.
It's just a shame that nothing else in the film holds up well enough for me to really care.
Selma is so gorgeous in this
:heart::heart::heart::heart::heart::heart::heart::heart: - 90's classic action film
My rating system works:
10:heart:- Masterpiece :100:
9:heart:- Excellent
8:heart: - Amazing :ok_hand:
7:heart:- Great :sun_with_face:
6:heart: - Good :thumbsup:
5:heart: - Average :head_bandage:
4:heart: - Bad but watchable :octagonal_sign:
3:heart: - Bad :sob:
2:rage:- Awful :face_vomiting:
1:face_with_symbols_over_mouth: - Bull Shit
Desperado is a gunslingin' good time! Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek light up the screen with their fiery chemistry and killer performances. The action is non-stop and the humor is on point. The stylish direction and killer soundtrack make for a movie that's impossible not to enjoy. It's the kind of film that leaves you grinning from ear to ear long after the credits roll. Yeehaw!
Desperado is a classic action movie that still holds up today. Antonio Banderas delivers an unforgettable performance as the mysterious and vengeful El Mariachi, and the film's stylish direction and exhilarating action scenes make for a thrilling ride from start to finish. The film's blend of Western and action movie satire, combined with memorable one-liners, make it a good watch.
The mariachi with more money and less imagination.
For me the best movie of the Mariachi trilogy, although "Once upon a time" is a close 2nd. I was very lucky to have watched Desperado first, because the original "El Mariachi" was a disappointment for me and I would certainly not have watch Desperado had I seen "El Mariachi" first!
The Mariachi comes back to another adventure this time with a lot more action and humour! I had a lot of fun watching it, highly entertaining!
The story continues to be very simple, this time the Mariachi just wants revenge for the previous events of the first film, El Mariachi. So, all you need to do is just enjoy all of the action!
It's very stylish, again like all of Rodriguez's films, the dialogues are great, all of the characters are great too and Antonio Banderas is a badass!
Shout by FinFanBlockedParent2018-07-21T19:23:46Z
Desperado is as much a sequel as it is a remake. It is El Mariachi with a bigger budget and a little more depth. It is more generic, yes, but this makes it more approachable so I think it's a trade-off. I liked it better 20 years ago but it is still entertaining enough, just don`t look for plot holes and stuff.
A very good 7.