DVD REVIEW
"Once Upon a Time in Mexico"
(Columbia Pictures)

Entertainment
Art

By JUSTIN GRANZIN

Few films polarized audiences like Robert Rodriguez’s final chapter in his mariachi series this year. While The Matrix arguments will go on until there’s peace in the Middle East, many in the fan-boy universe felt that Once Upon a Time in Mexico was going to be today’s The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. After the film’s release, fans split quicker than the Red Sea. Some just enjoyed the film for what it is, a violent romp with quirky characters that Robert Rodriguez could only create. Others despised the film and blamed its slipshod editing and a ridiculous script as major reasons for disappointment.

Recently, Once Upon a Time in Mexico found a new home on DVD, and here I believe the film will get the criticism it deserves. It doesn’t deserve an Academy Award for any portion of the film, but at the same time it doesn’t deserve the hate it’s received from Rodriguez’s former fans.

Antonio Banderas returns as El Mariachi, the role that propelled him up to stardom in Desperado. The film is set up as a revenge story as we slowly learn the fate of his one true love (Salma Hayak) and the fate of his daughter. He’s recruited by a CIA agent with a screw loose (Johnny Depp) and pushed into the world of international espionage. Meanwhile, plans are in motion by other forces to assassinate the President of Mexico. Mariachi’s whole goal is to end the life of the man that took his family from him, a corrupt general looking to take control of Mexico after the President’s death. Agent Sands (Depp) works to orchestrate certain assassinations for his benefit as well as the benefit of the U.S.A. Sands makes sure that there is balance. As this is going on, a retired FBI agent (Ruben Blades) hunts down drug lord Barillo (Willem Dafoe), who seems to have a connection to the rest of the cast, but confuses matters more.

The plot is ludicrous. It seems overly complex for a film of its nature. Throughout the film we concentrate on about twelve main characters, and the film only lasts a total of 102 minutes. That’s not enough time to flesh out any of these characters, and that’s been the films biggest criticism for good reason. Finally, some of the action sequences are chopped together so quickly you’d think you were watching a Super Bowl Half Time Show. On a sadder note, Mariachi almost takes a back seat to the rest of the cast, and Salma Hayak gets even less time, but that’s a common problem with most of her films.

But the film doesn’t suck. In fact, I found it to be one of 03’s most entertaining films.

The performance of Johnny Depp as Agent Sands is one for the ages. It seems that he only gets better with age. Sands is cruel, intelligent, unusual and hysterical. Each scene features Sands in a different costume with a different perspective on the world and one scene features the best Marlon Brando voice impersonation I’ve ever heard.

While some of the action may seem edited for the MTV generation, one can’t help but notice the creativity of violence. From a playful scene of a handcuffed together Salma and Antonio running from an arch nemesis to a scene that will make lovers of Depp’s "looks" cringe. I also must admit that any film that features a Clash of the Titans lunchbox is aces in my book. I guess you could say that the shortcomings of this film actually become its strong points over time. If it weren’t for the breakneck pacing of the script and the crunch of characters, we wouldn’t have gotten as many memorable moments. At the end of the day, the film is entertaining, quotable and best of all, satisfying.

The transfer to DVD is incredible. It was originally filmed with digital cameras and the move to DVD is an improvement over even the film version in the theaters. I’d go as far as to say that the image is perfect. There’s an outstanding Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track to complement the image.

The DVD extras do the film justice, and the extra features may turn those sitting on the fence about this film towards the enjoying side. If you’ve listened to the commentary tracks Rodriguez has done on his previous films you’ll know what to expect for this one. If not, expect over 100 minutes of learning how to make films cheap and quick. There’s a bevy of deleted scenes that mostly feature Johnny Depp that I wish would have been restored into the film. As usual, Robert Rodriguez’s featured "Ten Minute Film School" makes an appearance. It’s good stuff for anyone who might be interested in a career in film, but I think everyone will enjoy the "Ten Minute Cooking School" more. You’ll learn to cook pork so good that anyone that eats it will want to kill you. A couple of short documentaries round out the extras, and a great one is the "Inside Troublemaker’s Studio". Robert Rodriguez takes you on a tour of his home/studio. It’s where his movie magic takes place, and it’s a good complement to the rest of the features.

At the end of the day, I recommend this to action fans, Robert Rodriguez fans and Johnny Depp fans. Don’t let your pretentiousness disallow you from liking this film. This isn’t art, but it’s definitely entertainment.