Machete Kills (Robert Rodriguez)

[Henry Gale]

IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2002718/)

http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/screencrush.com/files/2013/09/machete-kills-poster-full.jpg

[Henry Gale]

I liked the first one, but at this point it's safe to say these officially work better as trailers.

The film opens with an extended Grindhouse-style trailer for the next one... and ends with a differently edited one, and most of the film's third act paves the way for that potential next movie's new genre of knowing ridiculousness. I just wish the main chunk of that and everything in the rest of it was as exciting and fun for me as an audience member as it clearly looks to be for everyone involved in making it.

It's loud, it's goofy, funny in spots, but just gets a bit tiresome. If it actually seemed like it was committing to anything resembling a reality (heightened or not) or genuinely compelling story, then maybe I would have stayed grinning at the the third or fourth time a henchman's intestines were used to rope them towards their demise instead of numbly yawning.

I almost wish Machete Kills Again... In Space never really gets off the ground, because the groundwork it sets up and fake trailer flashes of its over-the-top galactic schlock might just do a better job of building a fun, solid movie in my head than it ever could on screen.

** / C

[Sxottlan]

Pretty average. I liked the first film, but only saw it once. Watching this one, I'm reminded why.

These things are way, way too long. I'm not sure why Rodriguez drags things out. Both of these should have been 80 minutes. There's a lot of bloat and a lot of side characters. So many that Machete himself disappears for long stretches at a time. For example, the Chameleon character should have been completely cut. Not sure if the Chameleon is supposed to be some commentary on gender and racial identity or what, but the character's exit, while pretty funny, isn't worth the time spent on the subplot.

There are some pretty hilarious parts. Machete using helicopter blades at numerous times to dispatch enemies are pretty funny. Or how about Voz's entire plan coming wholesale from Moonraker?

Saw a line somewhere by a person comparing this to Austin Powers and unfortunately that stuck in my head the entire time I watched it.

[number8]

Had more fun with this than the first one, mostly because of Bichir and the fact that it actually committed to the Machete in Space joke beyond just a fake trailer. But boy, at this point Rodriguez is just a completely lazy director. There's no inventiveness to him anymore. Does he even still care about his visuals at all? So bizarre for a guy who insists on being his own DP. He's probably the best example of filmmaker autonomy gone wrong since George Lucas.

[eternity]

It's a shame that this is probably crummy. The trailers were fun and it's a shame that Robert Rodriguez gets to be the Robert Altman of bizarro casts.

[Rowland]

It's kind of sad to see such obviously uninspired output from Rodriguez, whose filmmaking chops have evidently stagnated since the likes of Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn, Sin City, and Planet Terror, but this still manages to sorta work thanks to game efforts by the cast. lol Mel Gibson FYC.

[Grouchy]

I'm not going to comment on the quality of this film which is very poor, made worse by the irrational lenght. I'm going to comment on the lack of naked women. The first Machete had a full frontal in the third shot, more or less, and kept the pace going. This movie doesn't even feature a breast.

[Mal]

Demian Bichir was great, but this movie has too much polish to be fun.

[Spun Lepton]

The trailer at the beginning seems almost like an apology to the viewer. "Sorry, you're not getting a proper ending. And now, here's five hours of me masturbating a flaccid penis!"

Rodriguez just doesn't give a shit any more. It wasn't even the slightest bit funny or clever, just ridiculous for the point of being ridiculous. His "grindhouse" schtick has officially gasped its final breath. I can't say I've liked everything he's done through his career, but this seems like the bottom-scraper to me.

[DFA1979]

Woof this sucked and wasted a good cast and some solid jokes. Oh well.