By Michael Walsh
Perhaps more surprising than the fact that Robert Rodriguez, working backwards, turned a trailer into a feature length niche genre film is that the said Mexploitation film is actually about something. Rodriguez’s violent Machete, born out of a fake trailer the filmmaker created for his and Quentin Tarantino’s collaborative Grindhouse project, is more than just the limb-decapitating movie the trailer makes it out to be. With small nuances of timely social commentary, Machete is a film that speaks volumes in body parts.
Machete centers around the titular character and ex-Federale agent Machete (Danny Trejo), who after being betrayed by the organization that hired him to assassinate a political figure sets out on a murderous path of revenge against those that crossed him.
At its most basic roots, Machete is a film that pays great and knowledgeable tribute to the exploitation genre of the grindhouse theater era. It does an even better job at doing this than Rodriguez’s terrific but slightly overproduced Planet Terror half of Grindhouse. Rodriguez shows a clear and concise understanding of the genre he is paying homage to, something recent box office champion Sylvester Stallone seemed unable to do with The Expendables and 1980′s action films.
Machete also offers more than just ferocious killing, perfect lines of B-movie dialogue and fine looking women. The film that feels more retro than anything in theaters as of late is actually more timely than ever. With the film’s main conflict centering around illegal immigration and the debate over border control in Texas, writer, director and native Texan Rodriguez is able to say a few things of worth, despite the film not taking itself seriously for one minute. It’s this minor attention to having some substance that leaves Machete feeling more fulfilling than one without. The more specific Mexploitation genre, a subset of the exploitation genre consisting of films dealing with Mexico, historically has dealt with real life issues of cartels, drug trafficking and other crime-related issues plaguing the Mexican countryside, making Rodriguez’s homage to the genre even more befitting of the times.
But Rodriguez’s light dash of social commentary is merely a backdrop for Machete‘s meat and potatoes of kill, kill again and kill some more. Trejo does his best Charles Bronson Death Wish impersonation as a sort of vigilante on the move, seeking out to kill criminal scum, which in this case are unforgiving border vigilante groups, a high exaggeration of America’s current state at the border, and the typical exploitation lineup of dopey killers and awesomely skilled hitmen. And boy does Machete kill. No limbs are safe here, as Machete often gives obvious preference to sharp items perfect for piercing and cutting flesh rather than the cleaner to operate gun. The film’s action is ruthless and dares its weakest viewers to turn away from the screen with head decapitations abound.
One thing untypical of a film of this kind is the fact that Rodriguez was able to work with what you might consider an all-star cast of both celebrated mainstream stars, genre stars and those who just didn’t quite make the big time. Trejo aside, the film’s bizarrely crafted cast features huge names such as Steven Seagal doing his best to come off as a Mexican drug lord, Jessica Alba as an immigrations officer and Robert De Niro in a sort of late career revival role as a campaigning senator. The list of names doesn’t stop there, with cult figures such as acclaimed special effects artist Tom Savini, Miami Vice‘s Crockett himself, Don Johnson, stoner-friendly comedian Cheech Marin, tough girl Michelle Rodriguez and Lindsay Lohan thrown into the mix. This strange and out there cast of characters works surprisingly well though,, as Rodriguez knows what to do with each of them, leading to many memorable cartoon-like characters, and in my opinion trounces the overrated ensemble cast of The Expendables.
It’s important to realize the difference between a spoof or parody and a homage, because Rodriguez’s film is certainly the latter. While the film is surely tongue-in-cheek, self-aware of its own ridiculous existence and conscious of what it is, it never pokes fun at the genre. Instead, it’s a serious entry into an often depraved and unrelenting genre that does just as it says it does – exploits. Rodriguez hits every sweet spot from the campy atmosphere right on down to the humorous dialogue. And you can call out those sweet spots: the herb-friendly Marin plays a priest and Lohan finds herself donning nun’s attire, just to name a few of the film’s obvious character-related gags.
It’s strange that time and time again filmmakers will often return to a vintage yet refreshing style of making genre films and show that just because we as a society might be progressing technically, it doesn’t mean we are creatively. In fact, perhaps with all that fantastic and reliable technology going to our stubborn and money-filled heads, we forget what it’s like to sit down and enjoy a film like Machete. Rodriguez and company are doing a good service in helping us remember.
