Film Review: Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)

Third part of the film series is usually the part when things start go downhill or is so bad that such process can’t be ignored. Not even such talented and innovative film maker like Robert Rodriguez could have escaped the phenomenon. His 2003 film Once Upon a Time in Mexico, the third part of “Mexican Trilogy” started with his celebrated debut El Mariachi, is considered the worst and one of the greatest disappointments of Rodriguez’s career.

Antonio Banderas returns in the role of El Mariachi, former musician turned into vigilante fighting drug lords of Mexico. During the conflict with corrupt Mexican Army general Marquez (played by Gerardo Vigil) El Mariachi has lost his beloved pregnant wife Carolina (played by Selma Hayek). So, when El Mariachi crosses path with CIA agent Sheldon Jeffrey Sands (played by Johnny Depp), he gets involved in his scheme to prevent Marquez, who takes his orders from drug lord Armando Barillo (played by Willem Dafoe), from staging coup against Mexican President (played by Pedro Armendariz, Jr.).

Once Upon a Time in Mexico was greeted with high expectations, based very much on Rodriguez’s reputation for stylish and visually impressive action scenes. While the film, like so many Hollywood action films at the time, can be described as embodiment of “style over substance”, its main problem might be in too much content. Probably trying to evade the problem he had with Desperado, in which plot seemed too repetitive and too much like his celebrated first part, Rodriguez has filled film with too many characters and too many subplots. Simplicity, that worked so well in previous two films and made them look Sergio Leone’s spaghetti western classics, is replaced with complicated plot worthy of couple of seasons of Narcos. Rodriguez, however, keeps the rapid pace, leaving audience barely enough time to notice numerous characters and stars like Willem Dafoe or Mickey Rourke playing glorified cameos. Everybody is, however, shadowed by the presence of Johnny Depp who played bizarre but deeply unpleasant and morally ambiguous character of CIA agent. His performance is so strong that he manages to turn El Mariachi into side character of his own film, an impression underlined with Banderas looking increasingly tired and uninspired compared with previous film. Rodriguez does improve impression a little bit with series of spectacular, stylish, ultra-violent and imaginative action scenes, but not enough to prevent audience feeling disappointed. The only thing that aged well in this film is the plot detail of violent military coup being successfully thwarted by civilian resistance. Twenty years ago this looked a little bit naive and more like a Hollywood fairytale, but nowadays, in light what happened in Turkey and Russia, it doesn’t look that far fetched. Once Upon a Time in Mexico, despite this and despite its strong cast, represents one of the lesser known Rodriguez’s films and those who watch it now might easy see why it is the case.

RATING: 4/10 (+)

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