I rented this movie on my first trip to the video store in over a year (hey, I can borrow so much, I haven't needed to go). I decided to watch this movie again when I made up my mind that I wanted to see its sequel, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, which I will blog about next. I had seen this movie once, a long time ago in college, and remembered very little of it except for a lot of acrobatic gunfire from dreamy Antonio. It didn't leave much of an impression on me then, so I don't know what possessed me to pick up this series again.
Well, actually I do. Given my latest new and improved interest in Johnny Depp, I have been watching or rewatching many of his movies. The sequel intrigued me, and I felt I couldn't watch that without watching this one again, to refresh my memory.
Turns out, it didn't really matter. The two movies are not very connected. And my second viewing of Desperado didn't leave me feeling any more impressed than I was the first time.
Antonio plays a gun-toting mariachi who seeks revenge for the murder of his girlfriend and the maiming of his left hand. The body count is high, the direction stylized, and, of course, there is an interesting twist and the chance meeting of a new lady love, Carolina, played by Salma Hayek.
I never saw nor was aware of El Mariachi, Robert Rodriguez's first rendition of this movie. I understand from limited research that the former version, filmed for a limited budget and all in Spanish, is a superior film. Maybe one day, I'll pick it up. I saw Desperado the first time by chance. It was on TV; I think I had Showtime back in those days, so I watched it. I didn't realize that it was, for all intents and purposes, an English language remake of El Mariachi with Antonio playing this character and at a higher budget.
Desperado is an artsy attempt at a modern pulp western. It isn't the greatest movie because the plot is extremely disjointed. This one made more sense than the second one, which I'll get to in a minute. The acting was somewhat two dimensional, and unless I missed it by not watching the first movie, I never understood why El Mariachi lost love and partial limb and was set on his quest for vengeance in the first place. Bucho explained that innocents lose their lives in his business (which I guess is drug dealing/cartels by one small clue), but I couldn't accept that as an explanation. And, the connection in the end made me more confused rather than less.
I'm not a big fan of Westerns, though I am a big fan of Antonio. I think he did a fine job with this character, more than any other actor in the film. I was also mildly entertained by the fancy gunwork and by Antonio and Salma's chemistry.
Yet, I didn't find myself liking this movie more than the first time. I guess it wasn't meant to be. I like a certain narrative progression, which was completely lacking in this movie, and a certain level of satisfaction when the movie ends. I did not experience said satisfaction, even despite the abstract and somewhat original touch of Rodriguez's direction.
If I were to rate this flick, which I am, I would give this a 7 as shaky. There are some major flaws as stated above, but I still felt entertained. Desperado does not pass the test, however. This movie is just not my style on so many levels, and I don't know if I'll have any interest in El Mariachi either. At least I gave it a try...twice.