Desperado
A gunslinger is embroiled in a war with a local drug runner.
Director:
Robert RodriguezWriter:
Robert RodriguezStars:
Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Joaquim de Almeida | See full cast and crew »Storyline
With this sequel to his prize-winning independent previous film, "El
Mariachi," director Robert Rodriquez joins the ranks of Sam Peckinpah
and John Woo as a master of slick, glamorized ultra-violence. We pick up
the story as a continuation of "El Mariachi," where an itinerant
musician, looking for work, gets mistaken for a hitman and thereby
entangled in a web of love, corruption, and death. This time, he is out
to avenge the murder of his lover and the maiming of his fretting hand,
which occurred at the end of the earlier movie. However, the plot is
recapitulated, and again, a case of mistaken identity leads to a very
high body count, involvement with a beautiful woman who works for the
local drug lord, and finally, the inevitable face-to-face confrontation
and bloody showdown.
User Reviews
Watch Out, El Mariachi Is Back!
Rodriguez follows up
'El Mariachi' with 'Desperado'. Many seem to have preferred the raw look
that 'El Mariachi' had and while 'Desperado' is more 'sophisticated' in
the making and more polished, that doesn't prevent it from being an
awesome action entertainer. For me, it was just as much fun as 'El
Mariachi'. Rodriguez does what he does best. He already mentioned that
his Mariachi films are a tribute to the western cinema that names like
Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood defined and 'Desperado' works perfectly
with its comic book story, quirky characters and over-the-top action
sequences. Moving at a rapid pace, the direction and editing are top
notch. The cinematography is brilliant too. Antonio Banderas does a good
job taking over the role from Carlos Gallardo (who sort of plays his
sidekick in this one). However, it is Salma Hayek that steals the show
even though the story is dominated by El Mariachi. As Carolina, she is
sensual, witty, charming and quite clever too. Hayek delivers a very
natural performance and owns each and every one of her scenes. In
addition, there are some wonderful cameos by Cheech Marin, Quentin
Tarantino, Steve Buscemi and Danny Trejo. Overall, 'Desperado' is full
throttle entertainment. This is what an action entertainer is supposed
to be.