can tell the fan favorite filmmaker is having fun making them. Whether it's the childlike innocence and imagination of Spy Kids
or the balls out, steroid juiced insanity of Machete, his flicks are never boring. What started out as throwaway trailer in 2007's Grindhouse double-feature has turned into an explosive, cutting edge(literally) butt kicking statement. Machete makes The Expendables look like Eat Pray Love. Period. It's not hard to see why Danny Trejo is such a fixture in Rodriguez films as the veteran actor and former thug embodies Machete, the blade wielding Mexican vigilante with a penchant for the ladies and a thirst for vengeance. Somebody might want to check Shaft's family tree to see if he's got a long lost Mexican brother from another mother. Machete's story starts off like you'd expect, with the brutal murder of his wife at the hands of an evil drug lord(a chunky, scene chomping Steven Seagal). Left to wallow in his own misery, Machete turns up as the most imposing day laborer looking for work in Austin, TX. After making friends with Luz(Michelle Rodriguez), an underground operative helping immigrants from the back of her taco truck, Machete is approached by a mysterious benefactor(Jeff Fahey) who wants him to assassinate somebody important. That someone would be Mexican-hating, nativist Senator McLaughlin(Robert Deniro). The job goes belly up, and Machete soon finds himself on the run and his people more hated than ever.
The only way to survive is to get bloody revenge for the botched mission. Machete's got no shortage of followers ready to fight by his side, including an idealistic immigration officer(Jessica Alba), and a shotgun wielding, weed smokin' padre(Cheech Marin). Rodriguez, who merely co-directed and co-wrote this slice of exploitation pie, is clearly having a ball with the casting, creating a whole new genre: celebploitation. Lindsay Lohan must've pulled a groin stretching to play a drugged out princess who engages in sexual trysts with her hot mom. So what if those aren't Lindsay's real boobs we're gawking at. Her purpose is to serve as a slice of bread in a Machete sandwich, and she performs her task well.
Earlier this year on Cinco De Mayo, a special trailer was released that was aimed squarely at Arizona and specifically it's Governor Jan Brewer for their tough anti-immigrant stance. The joke ad was just a snippet of the level of violence perpetrated against mostly white politicians and stiff, suited up henchman. He's not called Machete for nothing, as he wields a blade big enough to make Crocodile Dundee wet his Underoos™. The blood flies and the body count stacks up at an unrelenting pace as Machete cuts a crimson swatch through his enemies, and it's clear that Rodriguez is pulling out every disgusting thought he's ever had and splattering it all on screen for us to see. And it's friggin' glorious! One death in particular...I'll just say it involves an internal organ none of us thinks about but will recognize on sight, gets put to all sorts of new uses that might make the weak of stomach a little squeamish.
Too many people are going to look at Machete and scoff at the plot, which is silly and a little convoluted. Silly is exactly what's called for, though. You can't have a cast consisting of such a motley crew of washed up stars and famous has-beens and not have fun with it. It's the twisted crew of characters that keep all of the film's myriad plotlines exciting and fresh. Nothing is ever portrayed to the point where it should be taken seriously. We're talkin' about a guy who beats up dudes with garden tools. Leave your analytical brain at the door and roll with it.
I'm sure Rodriguez and Co. have some major point to make about this country's current attitude towards illegal immigration. Heck, it's slathered all over the place and layed out for us to see. It never intrudes upon the story. In fact, Machete was in production long before the Arizona laws ever came to pass. Machete is still an incredibly prescient piece of filmmaking, that knows how to stab a few holes in a controversial topic.
There's no doubt that Machete's going to rile some folks up, and those in Arizona might want to be a bit nicer to the help for awhile. Machete's already promised us he'll be back. Just don't try to text him to find out when. Machete don't text.
