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A loud, chaotic capper to Robert Rodriguez’s Mariachi trilogy: stylish, funny, and packed with swagger, but also overstuffed and uneven. If you want pulpy action, comic-book violence, and a starry, self-aware western-crime mashup, it delivers; if you need clean plotting or sustained tension, it can feel messy.
Where to watch: Buy
Thu · 1h 42m
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Johnny Depp, Cheech Marin
A corrupt CIA agent Sands hires hitman El Mariachi to assassinate a Mexican general hired by a drug kingpin attempting a coup d'état of the President of Mexico.
Robert Rodriguez
Antonio Banderas, Johnny Depp, Cheech Marin
A loud, chaotic capper to Robert Rodriguez’s Mariachi trilogy: stylish, funny, and packed with swagger, but also overstuffed and uneven. If you want pulpy action, comic-book violence, and a starry, self-aware western-crime mashup, it delivers; if you need clean plotting or sustained tension, it can feel messy.
Once Upon a Time in Mexico is Rodriguez at his most maximalist: a borderland fever dream of assassins, corruption, and operatic gunfights. The movie has a lot of attitude, and it often feels like it is sprinting on charisma, music, and visual flair rather than on narrative clarity. That can be a strength when the film is firing on all cylinders, but it also leaves the plot feeling crowded and occasionally hard to follow.
Antonio Banderas remains an appealing center, even when the film pushes him into a more mythic, less intimate role. The supporting cast adds plenty of personality, with Johnny Depp especially leaning into the movie’s comic-book absurdity. Rodriguez clearly wants this to feel bigger, funnier, and more baroque than a standard action sequel, and in terms of energy and invention, it usually does.
The result is a movie that is easy to admire more than it is easy to love. Its best qualities are the same ones that make it messy: excess, speed, and a willingness to turn every scene into a punchline or a shootout. For viewers in the mood for loud, stylized pulp, it’s a worthwhile ride; for everyone else, it may feel like a very pretty pileup.
Ben (3.5★) · 330 likes
“Are you a Mexican or a MexiCAN’T” I feel like I’m the only person on here who likes this movie lmao
Jay Cheel (1.5★) · 271 likes
If there was ever a movie designed for 1.5 speed viewing...
🇵🇱 Steve G 🐝 (1.5★) · 193 likes
I wouldn't want to presume to speak for anyone else, but when I settle down to watch an action film pretty much the last thing I want to see is Enrique Iglesias. Enrique fucking Iglesias. Furthermore, an Enrique Iglesias who looks as though he has never even so much as seen a gun let alone fired one. Some hero you are. Robert Rodriguez harped on about how he wanted Once Upon A Time In Mexico to be his equivalent of… more
Ivan (3★) · 179 likes
MEXICAN WILLEM DAFOE MEXICAN WILLEM DAFOE MEXICAN WILLEM DAFOE MEXICAN WILLEM DAFOE
Rafael "Mister Movie" Jovine (3.5★) · 168 likes
Action! - Three Auteurs: El Campamento De Robert Rodriguez There is the possibility that this film will either be a step backward or a step forward based on what you liked in Desperado. Personally, I enjoyed how the story was balanced between Hayek and Banderas and the action. However, the film is muddied this time around in a series of subplots that make it seem very bloated and convoluted, even though in the same fashion, we have a greater number… more
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action thriller, neo-western, crime caper, gunfights, dark comedy, borderland, ensemble cast, stylized violence, early 2000s, pulp