Rating: 
Summary: The lead's a-flyin' in this one
Review: While the plot may come up a little short, the gun play is nothing short of spectacular. I thought I saw it all, when it comes to gunfights, until I saw this film. The picture is beautifully filmed, the music wonderful, and the casting chemical. Cheech Marin, Steve Buscemi and Quentin Tarantino add the perfect finishing touches. This is not a chick-flick, or even a date-movie. This, as they say on some cable channels, is a movie for guys who like movies. Send the wife to the mall, send the kids to the park, and sit back and enjoy. Centrinells re-watchability score: A+
Rating: 
Summary: This movie is a classic.
Review: You'll hear bad things about this movie from film buffs and intellectual types. If you don't know who John Woo is, this may not be your movie. But, despite the perphaps un-fantastic story, this movie is great. It's got everything, action sequences that are amazing, fantastic one liners, a gorgeous girl (Salma Hayek), a cool little cameo by Quentin Tarantino (who is hilarious), and tons of just fantastic characters and scenes. You've got to see the guy with the knives, or Banderas's "band" (you'll love them, I promise). I'm not great at raving about movies, so I'll just say that this one is worth owning, no doubt.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good Movie - superb sound
Review: Chapter 4 - Antonio Banderas singing on stage - is a superb Dolby Digital sound demonstration.Otherwise the movie is very enjoyable, if you liked Pulp Fiction, Dusk 'til Dawn, or El Mariachi. This is the same wild crew...
Rating:
Summary: Completely over-the-top and entirely enjoyable!
Review: This extremely violent story of how a Mexican "Mariachi"-singer wreaks terrible vengeance on the drug-lord who ruined his life - and on anyone unwise enough to get in his way - is pure fun. Yes, it is chock-full of clichés - on their first meeting, the (wounded) hero actually faints into the arms of the beautiful girl! - but any movie that uses clichés as innovatively as this one does deseves admiration. I enjoyed "Desperado" very much, but then I like action movies with a twisted sense of humour, like "Grosse Pointe Blank", or "From Dusk Till Dawn". END
Rating:
Summary: Drop-dead cool, larger-than-life, pure full-blown action FUN
Review: When I was about 12 there was an Australian movie that ran in EXTREMELY limited release called "Mad Max" that I knew in an instant had to be one of the coolest movies ever made, but most people didn't get in on that fact until "The Road Warrior" came out a few years later.
As an adult, the best comparison I have to that scenario is "Desperado", a great movie seen by very few people (and a sequel to a movie called "El Mariachi" that still even fewer people saw), that now draws them in to due to the success of its own sequel "Once Upon A Time In Mexico".
The story is simple enough and thanks to flashback sequences generously added by wunderkind director Robert Rodriguez, it is not necessary to have seen "El Mariachi" in order to enjoy it. A guitarist (Antonio Banderas) whose lover was killed and whose own right hand was maimed (thus preventing him from ever playing guitar again) by a gangster searches for the big boss drug dealer behind the scene, killing pretty anyone who would obstruct his path of vengeance. His calling card? His old guitar case, now a portable weapons cache from which he plays a sonata of death.
Along the way he meets and falls in love with a woman (Selma Hayek, naturally) who would deliver him to the path of redemption...if only she were not also involved (romantically, possibly...financially, definitely) with the very man the guitarist has been hunting for years.
There are any number of subplots and supporting characters that make this movie memorable to me...Steve Buscemi and Quentin Tarantino himself makes a memorable guest appearance, and the then-unknown Danny Trejo is terrific as one of my favorite cinema assassins EVER with a bitchin' tattoo beneath a leather vest loaded with throwing knives that have crucifix-shaped handles.
The soundtrack is absolutely brilliant, every bit as memorable as that from "Pulp Fiction" (usually and correctly the most immediate contemporary film to which "Desperado" draws comparisons). The opening dream/fantasy sequence features Banderas himself delivering a memorable vocal behind a blistering Los Lobos original song). There is violence o'plenty, and it is overblown to such absurdist proportions that would shame most comic book editors; none of it is remotely believable, yet if you are a fan of Tarantino's movies (as well as those of Sergio Leone and John Woo), you will be suitably entertained and should be lining up to make "Desperado" a part of your permanent collection.
Rating:
Summary: Desparado
Review: One of the most gripping gun slinging films out there today, Desparado is a film that will please all as it has a mixed genre setting. Desparado is sexy , slick and as hot as hell this is the second installmant of the three films which in my view is the best of the lot. Very impressive
Rating:
Summary: the best western of all time!
Review: quenten tarantino is the pick up guy!the story is all about a renegade spanish fellow in a sting like outfit.[remember him from wcw?].he goes around to bars and wastes drug runners and low lifes galore!like a south of the border punisher.its very bloody and messy.eventualy he enrages a big time coke dealer.it all climaxes in a wild ironic bloodbath.all the same guys who are always in quenten tarantino movies show up here.mostly only very briefly.cheech is in it briefly also.its a bit bloody for kids.theres a sex scene and..........just dont let them watch it!its action packed!i thought quenten tarantino directed but apparantly not.its way better than young guns .the only questionable scene involves a kid getting shot.he lives but man!those of you who are squeamish wont like it.its quite bloody.his chicks alright . looking..the main character performed awesomely!hes the biggest tough guy of our time!theres a tough guy for every generation.the new millenium has this dude!hes cool like rambo,bruce lee and rocky.this entire movie is intense!heck im changing it to 5 stars right now!
Rating:
Summary: You got a cleaner mug? This one's dirty.
Review: Sinking us back into the gritty life of a tormented guitar player, Rodriguez sets the stage for an amazing film. This time, Antonio Banderas steps into the role of the troubled Mariachi as he continues his quest to rid Mexico of the corrupted drug lord that destroyed his life. Using friends like Steve Buscemi, he finds the town that is harboring his villain named Bucho. The Mariachi's form of questioning normally leads to several dead, a cinematic gun fight, and some classic Sergio Leone verbiage. Unfortunately, our hero does not escape unscathed and finds himself being healed by the likes of Carolina, a bookstore beauty played by Selma Hayek. Together they build a steamy relationship that will help our Mariachi reach his final destination. As more gunfights, explosions, and blood rock this independent blockbuster, we soon discover a hidden secret about our hero, one that could change the course of his destination.
This was an impressive second outing by director Robert Rodriguez. While I was worried that Hollywood would have drained too much of his imagination, it was instead the direct opposite. Hollywood gave him the tools to build an amazing "sequel". While different, yet the similar to his independent feature "El Mariachi", Rodriguez sets the stage for a roller coaster film that makes you hold your breath and pray for more. He has taken elements from his first film and expanded them to new levels. Banderas is perfect as our "new" Mariachi and the chemistry between him and Selma Hayek cannot be contested. Banderas' ability to control this enraged man was spectacular. They worked as our two main focuses of this film. Coupled with some humorous moments with Steve Buscemi and Quentin Tarantino, this film successfully stood on its own two feet thanks not just to the action, but the actors in their respective roles.
Finally, Rodriguez is a genius behind the camera. He is able to give us exactly the right amount of action, drama, and comedy for our liking. He is the proverbial salad bar of cinema. While giving us this deeply rooted character hell-bent on destroying this drug lord, he also lets our imaginations wander with his comical and cartoonish action sequences. The scenes of men flying through the air after being shot are somewhat comical, yet completely Rodriguez. He has successfully created this world that is all uniquely his own. Rodriguez has done this by giving the world depth and outside characters. He builds suspense and also suspicion all at the same time.
Overall, an amazing film (in case you haven't noticed) that should be found in nearly everyone's film collection.
Grade: ***** out of *****
Rating: 
Summary: The Mariachi's back in black, on purpose
Review: Desperado was the necessary addition to Roberto Rodriguez's original film, The Mariachi. Although the director is the same, there is definitely a revamp in the film. For example, Antonio Banderas replaced the original actor of The Mariachi to play the character in Desperado. This gives you a sense of what one can do with more money and a bit more time.
However, I have not given you a sense of the story. The story is set a few years after The Mariachi ended, with Steve Buscemi's character telling tales of this gun slinging Mariachi. Apparently, Antonio Bandera's character, the Mariachi, has put up his guitar for his new lifestyle of revenge killings. With his final revenge nearing, Banderas has many difficulties as his progress is halted many times. Only when another lady comes into his life, played by Salma Hayek, does Bandera get back on his mission.
This movie was good, and entertaining. I do not feel that the acting was necessarily exemplary, although I did like Buscemi playing the role that he did, because it just seemed to fit him so well. The gun battles were neat, and the cinematography over all was nice. What really made this movie for me was the connection with The Mariachi, because it was not unlike, for good reason, Tarantino's style of tie-ins to previous movies. This movie would get a 3.5 for its revitalization of the modern Western, with a distinctly Southwest/Mexican feel. However, I can only give it a three or four, and I round down, so three it is.
Rating:
Summary: Muy bueno!
Review: Antonio Banderas sizzles as the vengeful Mariachi, and Steve Buscemi and Cheech Marin, as El Mariachi's best friend and the bartender, do a splendid job in roles that were unfortunately overlooked by the critics. A great followup to El Mariachi. It's violent and bloody, but hey, these bad guys deserve it. Salma Hayak is alluring as the Mariachi's love interest, and the one-liners are great. Check it out
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