Monday Mayhem: Once Upon a Time in Mexico - Guitars, guns, and a coup d'etat

In our weekly series, Monday Mayhem, we recommend fast-paced Hollywood action films

The sequel to the cult classic 1995 film Desperado was supposed to be filmmaker Robert Rodriguez’s magnum opus. He had a much bigger budget at his disposal as well as a wealth of new Hollywood stars in the form of Johnny Depp, Willem Dafoe, Mickey Rourke, and Eva Mendes joining the cast. Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek reprised their roles from the previous film to star in leading roles. Despite its star-studded ensemble, higher production value and the signature ‘Rodriquez’ action sequences, it failed to capture the magic of Desperado, and to an extent, El Mariachi.

Desperado becoming a cult classic was not purely by chance. The film had the air of a B-grade action flick with just the right elements to turn into one of the most memorable films from the 90s. The story in itself was simply a soft reboot of the first film, El Mariachi. With Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek’s undeniable chemistry and the scintillating gun fights involving the mysterious ‘Mariachi’ carrying guns in his guitar case, the film was destined to be revered as a cult classic.

However, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, despite retaining several of the core elements from the trilogy, is significantly different in terms of themes, scope, and structure. While Banderas’s arc follows an identical arc, just like the first two films, the new storyline about Johnny Depp’s character, Sands, takes centre stage. The lawless small-town aesthetic from the other films is discarded in favour of a broader storyline about the Mexican government and a coup to overthrow the government.

In other words, there are two parallel storylines — one about the Mariachi, and the other about the CIA agent Sands. The storylines often tend to get convoluted at times, but the incredible art style, fast-paced actions, and some surreal set-pieces make up for any deficiencies. The characters and their arcs are also engaging and keep one guessing about how and where the branching storylines would intersect. The new characters introduced for the film are a mixed bag ranging from complex, weird, and relatable. Johnny Depp’s Sands in particular fits into all three of the aforementioned categories.

The third act of the film is undoubtedly its most compelling and satisfying. The Mariachi and their fancy weapons and Sands as a one-man army make for a frantic conclusion. Director Rodriguez has attempted something far more ambitious with this project when compared to the previous instalments in the trilogy. The geopolitical themes and the involvement of Mexican and American law enforcement agencies are most certainly a big shift for the franchise.

The film is by no stretch of the imagination a thought-provoking story. Its story is jarring at times and Banderas’s arc is often sidelined. But the stunning visuals and stylised gunfights make it an entertaining watch. Even though the film is the most expensive project from the trilogy, it is also one of its lesser-known.