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Wednesday, May 18, 2011

MACHETE (2010)

Directed by Robert Rodriguez & Ethan Maniquis
Starring Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, Jeff Fahey, Jessica Alba, Robert De Niro, Steven Seagal, Lindsay Lohan, Don Johnson, Cheech Marin, Daryl Sabara, Tom Savini

If anything, Rodriguez has been artistically out of control the last few years by pushing out these over the top, yet very inventive action capers. I'd say it kicked off with Once Upon A Time In Mexico (2003) and has continued with Planet Terror (2007) and now Machete. Mexico was the third film in the El Mariachi trilogy and definitely the lesser of the films whereas Planet Terror was half of Grindhouse (along with Tarantino's excellent Death Proof) and a very succesful and brilliant half at that. Machete starts off awesome, continues ok and finishes disappointingly with a feeling of misguidance and loose ends of it's too many characters. It's fun to see Seagal, Johnson and Fahey play against their campy reps and De Niro is a real stand out. Not in terms of his performance but his presence! The action is ridiculously entertaining and there are plenty of good ideas (along with bare tits and ass!) but by the end Machete shoves it's political views forcefully down the viewers throat and doesn't know how to bring it all to a coherent close. Shame. There was potential but too much is too much.

Machete on tahallisesti yliampuva toimintasplätteri, joka syntyi vitsiksi tehdystä leffatrailerista Grindhousen yhteyteen. Ohjaaja Rodriguez on keskittynyt lähivuosina tekemään näitä älyvapaita toimintaleffoja kehnojen perhe-elokuvien ohessa ja ainoastaan toiseksi puolikkaaksi Grindhousea luotu Planet Terror on ollut niistä aidosti toimiva sekasoppashow. On toki kiva nähdä entisvuosien isoja ja jo aikoja sitten haalistuneita tähtiä uudelleen sorvin ääressä, mutta edes heidän hellyttävä läsnäolo ei voi peittää sitä faktaa, että Machete on väkisin omia poliittisia näkemyksiään katsojan kurkusta tunkeva aivopesuleffa, joka vieläpä hajoaa lopussa sillä elokuvassa on yksinkertaisesti lopulta liikaa hahmoja eikä kaikille keksitä mitään järkevää tekemistä ja langat lähtevät käsistä. Sääli, sillä potentiaalia on ollut, mutta liika vain *on* liikaa. Ainakin luvassa on paljon paljaita tissejä ja persettä.

Machete at IMDb

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This movie was a real _disapointment_! It was so baaad... I hated Lindsay Lohan! Why did they choose her for the nun's part? ...But Michelle Rodriguez was hot!

Oh, and I love your blog!! :)

EdWood said...

Thank you so very much. I'm honestly a bit taken back when someone says nice things about this blog because these are just my humble opinions and what ever I try to write them as :) thank you very much for sticking with it!

And you nailed it about Machete. Especially Rodriguez :D