Product Description

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 06/28/2005

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41226 in DVD
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2004-01-20
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, French
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 183 minutes

Amazon.com
Once Upon a Time in Mexico
Guns, guns, guns! And a few explosions as bodies fly through the air and crash into tables and fruit stands. Once Upon a Time in Mexico, like all Robert Rodriguez movies, is all about the kinetic kick of high-velocity action. Johnny Depp, blase and whimsical, plays a CIA agent who's drawn guitar-playing gun-slinger Antonio Banderas (long black hair flopping over his face like the ears of a Labrador puppy) into a ridiculously convoluted plot to overthrow the Mexican government. Along for the ride are a craggy-faced rogue's gallery including Willem Dafoe, Mickey Rourke, Danny Trejo, Ruben Blades, and (to balance things out) the smooth, tantalizing complexions of Eva Mendes and Salma Hayek. For sheer trashy fun, Once Upon a Time in Mexico is a step down from its predecessor, Desperado--but Desperado set the bar pretty high. For coherent storytelling, look elsewhere, but for action razzle-dazzle, this is your movie. --Bret Fetzer

Desperado
It's Sergio Leone meets Sam Peckinpah meets Quentin Tarantino in this ultraviolent, mythological shoot-'em-up by auteur Robert Rodriguez. In Desperado, Rodriguez creates larger-than-life, genre-tweaking stock characters and puts them through their paces. As they stride bravely through an Old West lightly dusted with camp humor, they're periodically called upon to nimbly dodge bullets and fireballs through outrageously choreographed displays of Hollywood pyrotechnics. In this bigger-budget semi-remake/semi-sequel to Rodriguez's indie sensation, El Mariachi (made, famously, for $7,000), Antonio Banderas is the darkly charismatic El Mariachi, the Mysterious Stranger in town; Steve Buscemi is perfectly cast as his weasely, motor-mouth Comic Sidekick, laying the groundwork for El Mariachi's entrance by spinning saloon stories to build up his legend; Cheech Marin is a standout as the Bartender, who really knows how to handle a toothpick; and gorgeous Salma Hayek is, well, the Girl--treated to the kind of full-blown, slow-mo introduction the movies traditionally lavish on beautiful new stars. It doesn't add up to much, but it's a kick. Be careful not to blow out your speakers with the DVD's Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. --Jim Emerson

Customer Reviews

A weak conclusion to the trilogy, OUATIM.
This is supposed to be part of a trilogy, but it really is a barely connected duology.

I think you can forget about the first movie El Mariachi, interesting only if you figure that the movie cost only $7,500. Amazing really that it should have been a one star, based on cost. But the director created a relatively interesting film, that I would have given 3 stars to, but have to downgrade for violence and language to a 2 star.

At best it is a rental if one wishes to see what started it all for this director and what lead into the best of the three, movie, Desperado. Banderas and Hayek were not in the first movie, so I see little to connect it to the other two movies.

The second movie in the trilogy is Desperado starring Antonio Banderas and Selma Hayek. Made in 1995, it seems to have grown in popularity over the years because of these two stars and the fact that this was a well funded and very well made movie. I liked Desperado enough to purchase it. This is not a family friendly movie. I give it 5 stars, rounded down to 4 stars because of lots of violence, bad language, nudity and simulated sex. But unlike Once Upon a Time in Mexico OUATIM, the banderas character is interesting to watch and rout for. Banderas is becoming one our better action stars not that he has turned in excellent performances in Zorro and the Thirteenth Warrior.

The third movie, Once Upon a Time in Mexico OUATIM, of the duology-trilogy is an uninspired, sometimes boring, excursion into senseless violence. I wanted Banderas to survive, couldn't have cared less about the smart-aleck Depp character and the story wasn't clear enough to try and follow. This is a 3 star movie rounded down to 2 stars for violence and language. There was no nudity.

Bottom line is that Desperado, the middle movie is a worthy addition to the collection for Banderas fans, the other two are not.

Don't forget the first one to...
Both of these movies are amazing, though I was all too happy that I was able to see El Mariachi before either of them. The first movie was done almost entirely volunteer with a budget that barely covered the cost of the ammunition -- and yes, at that shockingly low price-tag -- it was that good that it rated two sequels!

Lots of southwest machismo flavor, guns, musicians, tragic love, what more could one want from a movie aiming for the top of the genre.

Desperado first disjointedly continues from El Mariachi (believe me, if you saw E.M. first, you would have at least a few confused moments when viewing Desperado the first time). Once Upon a Time in Mexico picks up from where Desperado left off and the flash backs throughout the third movie do a reasonable job and tying the series together. The plots for all three are fantastical and legend, but all three movies work the genre style for all they are worth and end up way way way on top. Did I mention the astounding cast? It's not just the stars -- they've pulled out some pretty legendary supporting actors to boot.

Five stars for the fact that in addition to being astoundingly fabulous movies -- each one of the three is able to stand as a solid movie unto itself without the other two. Four stars for the set -- only because the set doesn't include El Mariachi, which I think everyone should watch at least a few times. I think it is about time that El Mariachi garners due royalties along with its American companion sequels...

Are you a MexiCan or a MexiCant?
This is not the type of film that will delve into your deep psyche and come up with something profound.

It's guns, action and more guns.

In my opinion Johnny Depp absolutely steals every single scene he is in. He's got his character, Sands, down and you can tell he's really into his role.

Antonio Banderas is excellent at reprsing his role as el Mariachi and Salma Hayek is great eye candy and does faboulous stunt work!

Grab this DVD, kick back and enjoy the ride!