Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)

My Review

“Once Upon a Time in Mexico” is a neo-western action film about a man name El Mariachi who is hired by a CIA officer to kill a corrupt general out to assassinate the President of Mexico. Director Robert Rodriguez (“Spy Kids” 2001) put together a film that has so much action, adventure, and shoot-outs that it distracts from the convoluted plot and mediocre script.

The all-star cast includes Antonio Banderas as El Mariachi, Selma Hayek, Johnny Depp, Mickey Rourke, Eva Mendes, Danny Trejo, Enrique Iglesias, Marco Leonardi, Cheech Marin, Ruben Blades, William Dafoe, Julio Oscar Mechoso, and Pedro Armendariz Jr. as the President of Mexico. This film is the third in Rodriguez’s “Mexico Trilogy” which includes “El Mariachi” (1992) and “Desperado” (1995). Banderas reprised the El Mariachi role from the 1995 picture, which also featured Hayek, Marin, and Trejo.

The watchable “Once Upon a Time in Mexico” makes for great entertainment and was popular at the box office for producer Robert Rodriguez, Columbia Pictures, Dimension Films, Troublemaker Studios, and Sony Pictures Releasing. Rodriguez also handled the film’s cinematography, editing, musical score, and writing the screenplay.