Machete: Movie Review

Machete: Movie Review

Machete
Rating: 7/10
Cast: Danny Trejo, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Jeff Fahey, Lindsay Lohan, Don Johnson, Steven Seagal, Cheech Marin, Robert deNiro

Director: Robert Rodriguez
Spun off from a fake trailer housed inside the Grindhouse films from a couple of years back, Machete is a bloody, gory, violent, funny exploitation pic.
The rugged craggy, scar-faced Trejo plays Machete, a Federal agent who's betrayed at the start of the film by Torrez (Seagal), because Machete won't do the honourable thing and take a bribe.
But that's not enough for Torrez - he slaughters Machete's family in front of him.
Vowing revenge, Machete (somehow - and unsurprisingly) escapes and is seen three years later working at a the US border with Mexico, doing whatever he can to get by.
However, Jeff Fahey's bearded Booth one day offers him $150,000 to shoot Senator McLaughlin (De Niro), who's campaigning on the re-election trail under the ticket of shutting down the Mexican border and getting rid of the illegal immigrants.
Things get worse for Machete when he's betrayed by Booth and finds himself on the run from the would-be assassins and Jessica Alba's Agent Sartana - can he clear his name and save the day?
Ok, you're not going to go to Machete for indepth dialogue, devastating discussion about immigration and deep characterisation - on the contrary, this is a film developed from a fake trailer in the Grindhouse films from the likes of Tarantino and Rodriguez.
It's sleazy, it's violent, it's exploitative - and above all, it's just a good night out for the lads.
The pulpy feel of the film is set before the opening credits have even begun: with a sneering Trejo, Machete is a killing machine, using a 360-degree spin to massacre and behead a room full of bad guys; the opening says it all.
But it's also funny - it's clearly from a team who understand and deeply love the genre. There's no sign of parody and Trejo gives it a deep intensity and his all to a character who says little, apart from lines such as "Machete don't text".
All of the supporting cast are good and are clearly relishing their roles, and Rodriguez has done a frenetic job of editing the whole thing together within the confines of the genre, and with some great sound effects, it's a bloody mess (in the best possible way.) Add in a blistering soundtrack and you've got the makings of a good time out.

Don't expect much out of Machete - head to it after a few drinks and with some of the lads; that way you'll have a blast.