Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as I expected
Review: This is one of the very few cases where I believe that the sequel beats the hell out of the original. Desperado has a main character who speakes English, a REALLY hot girl, and a ending that doesn't leave you waiting for a sequel. I reccomend Desperado over this in a second.
Rating: 
Summary: A REAL TRESURE!
Review: This movie by Robert Rodrigez is my favorite of the trilogy. People seem to have a problem with the cheap "Sundance" feel of the movie, but I really love how this movie was pulled off with low buget. I garantee that if you view the "Ten Minute Film School" featurette (comes with the movie) that you will have alot more fun watching the movie knowing how it was made, and knowing the little tricks Robert Rodrigez used to make the action so real and just for pennies. Great movie, great plot, and great use of little money. Oh and you'll just have to get over the fact that it's subtitled for English, it's worth every second!
Rating:
Summary: Good morning, Azul. Know who this is?
Review: Through the heart of independent cinema comes the bold and expressive first film by Robert Rodriguez. While he would go on later to give us some modern day classics, this is the film that jump-started his career. Set in a gritty town of Mexico, a drifter arrives ready to restart a new life and concentrate on his music. He soon learns that this will be a very difficult dream since the moment he steps foot in town he is mistaken for a murderous criminal named Azul. Azul is after his money that Moco (the head boss) has failed to pay him. Moco tries to have Azul killed, but finds it difficult when he carries with him a guitar case filled with guns. After several gun battles, explosions, and a love story with a woman that gives the guitar player his first real gig, our hero finds his life in the mercy of others. It is at this time our Mariachi is reborn.
Rodriguez gives his best direction to date. Perhaps it was the lack of funds or the intensely gritty scenes, but this film helped me realize why cinema is so amazing. It is the perfect story of the small fish making his big mark on a big pond. Rodriguez takes every resource he can and rebuilds the classic concept of mistaken identity. With the fast-framed photography and interesting choice of camera angles, he takes a straightforward story and builds a legend. I enjoyed watching this film because although it was made for just a simple $7,000, the production doesn't look cheap. I have seen Hollywood blockbusters that have looked like they squandered their money more than Rodriguez did. I was just impressed with the quality of the film and the story that I suddenly felt myself totally immersed into the story.
Oddly, it is the story that never falters throughout this picture. Normally, when you have a lower cost on budget, a segment of a film will suffer. Sometimes it is the character development, other times it is the story. Nothing is forgotten about in this film. There is plenty of violence (for all you action fans out there), some powerful drama (dealing with his dreams), and some comedy that will keep you grinning from ear to ear. By having this strong balance, our hero emerges with the utmost confidence, our villain seems diabolically evil, and therefore leading into moments of sheer joy, constantly wondering what will happen next. I was rooting for everyone in this film because I felt something for each. Only through the careful eye and artistic direction of Rodriguez could such a feat be accomplished.
I have nothing negative to say about this film. From the moment the first turtle walked across the screen until the very end, I enjoyed every aspect of this picture. I suggest this movie to anyone that has ever thought about making a film, but was concerned about budget. I also suggest this film to anyone who loves a good story, amazing action, and characters that literally jump out of the screen like comic book heroes.
Grade: ***** out of *****
Rating: 
Summary: The old Sundance classic still holds its own
Review: Until you watch the "10-Minute Film School" featurette that shows you how REALLY low-budget this film is, the actual movie itself won't give you that much of an indication of how little it cost. This action-packed film is well-shot, clever, paced well, and altogether entertaining-- and even at times moving. Give "El Mariachi" a whirl.
Rating: 
Summary: I like it, yet it's very overrated
Review: Well let me start by saying that I liked El Mariachi, It had a good likeable cast (Carlos Gallardo was good as El Mariachi), good script, and it knows how to keep the viewer interested. Like Roger Ebert once said, "A good movie doesn't rely on how much money is spent on it" and I totally agree with that. So many would say that El Mariachi is the total package right? Wrong! As a John Woo and Quentin Tarantino lover I expected this to be somewhat more action packed and was left somewhat empty handed. It suprised me how so many people said the action was beautifully done, and I thought I was going to agree with them since I saw Desperado before this. Yet the action is a let down, heck the budget was so low in this movie we don't even see any type of bullets flying or even explosives going off in the actors chests. For the man who has been called the Hispanic John Woo I would think that his action sequences would be more stylized (I have seen really cheesy Mexican shoot-out movies that had an even lower budget yet managed to show better action sequences than this.) But I guess I realize that Robert Rodriguez intention wasn't to make a great action film rather to make a good movie. And a good movie it's. If you are an action fan that can accept this drawback, then go for it.
Rating:
Summary: Mariachi business is bad, but shooting is good
Review: When a young mariachi comes to a town hopefully full of luck, he finds a danger that will haunt him. In Robert Richardson's directorial debut, and also the first of the Mariachi trilogy, a young guitar player is accidentally mistaken as a target on the local drug lord's hit list. Confused, the musician is taken in by a bar owner who becomes split between her, the bar owners, thoughts of the Mariachi and the drug lord. Not your traditional movie of role-reversal, the mariachi has to take his role seriously as he defends his life.
Overall I feel that this movie is a decent movie. Considerably so when one figures the budget was only $7,000. The story is all in Spanish, which is not surprising since it takes place in Mexico and has a very distinct Hispanic flavor. Mind you, although a simple plot, this film can be understood universally. The movie is not too flashy, with limited stunts, and it is not too enrapturing. Yet, when packaged with the other Mariachi films, Desperado and Once Upon A Time In Mexico, this movie is clearly the start of something good. This is a good film to see anyways, but a must see if you enjoyed either of the other Mariachi films. Also, like I previously mentioned, this is Robert Richardson's first, and a director's first is always a good crucial predictor and indicator of his future films.
Rating:
Summary: AWESOME!
Review: While I hesitate to praise this movie too much for fear of creating unreasonably high expectations, El Mariachi is simply awesome; certainly amongst the best 10 movies of the 1990s. It is on par with La Femme Nikita for boldness, raw originality, impact, and influence. I think it is the greatest Mexican movie ever made.The saddest thing about El Mariachi is that even despite all its obvious limitations ($$$, special effects, Moco's spanish and acting) it is still 10 times better than anything Rodriguez has done since. Don't even watch the other films in this series. Antonio Banderas, who interestingly enough also did his best work when he was relatively unknown in Spain (see Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down), is really a tired old Spanish Hollywood sellout. Casting him as a Mexican hero is like casting Benedict Arnold as an American hero. Cheech Marin, although I love him, is about as Mexican as a spinach tortilla wrap. He is but a safe quota-filler for whenever Hollywood needs a silly chicano sidekick. Thankfully this DVD is now available without having to also buy the tainted "sequel" Desperado. El Mariachi has a raw energy and power that totally overcomes its budgetary restraints. It also brilliantly captures much of the tense and nervous culture which so characterizes the US/Mexican border region in our time. The jail cell, Gallardo's interaction with the hotel desk clerk, his singing of "ganas de vivir", the eerily quiet and real chase scenes, and the marvelous Tarantino meets Romeo and Juliettesque a la mexicana final are seamlessly weaved together in a simply elegant tale of a life fully lived. Disclaimer: I speak fluent Spanish, and am not bothered by watching movies with subtitles in any event. If you do not like movies with subtitles and are not interested in ever doing so, you will probably enjoy this movie much less than Robert Rodriguez's later hyped up and dumbed down work, like Desperado.
Rating: 
Summary: Why have you dopes put this movie in the Spain Categorgy?
Review: Why have you dopes put this movie in the Spain Categorgy?Why have you dopes put this movie in the Spain Categorgy?Why have you dopes put this movie in the Spain Categorgy?Why have you dopes put this movie in the Spain Categorgy?Why have you dopes put this movie in the Spain Categorgy?
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