Machete
Dir: Robert Rodriguez, Ethan Maniquis
2010
***
Like many of the 70's Grindhouse/Exploitation movies, the film rarely lives up to the trailer. In that sense, the full length feature version of Machete is a fitting tribute. It's not all bad though, you can't take the film seriously when it doesn't take itself seriously - for the best part it's a fun and silly film. The only problem I had was that it seemed rushed. The intro was done in the Grindhouse fashion, grainy, scratched film, aged orange tint and bad cuts, so why this wasn't extended to the whole film is beyond me (or did Rodriguez only direct the first bit?). The cast is great and there are some excellent scenes but the classic scenes from the trailer seem to be an afterthought. Enjoyable, but it did seem like a way to make a quick buck rather than be a heartfelt desire from Rodriguez who is capable of much more. Mind you, after watching the deleted scenes on the DVD release it could have been a lot worse!