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Machete - Grading & Discussion

Grade the movie...

  • Total voters
    11
A

Agent Richard07

Admiral
Admiral
Welcome to the grading & discussion thread for Machete.
[highlight]***SPOILERS AHEAD***[/highlight]





machetebanner1.jpg



"He looked like just another day laborer from the streets and the perfect fall guy for a crooked
political assassination. But he turned out to be Machete, a legendary ex-Federale with a deadly
attitude and the skills to match. Left for dead after clashing with notorious Mexican drug kingpin
Torrez, Machete has escaped to Texas, looking to disappear and forget his tragic past. But what he
finds is a web of corruption and deceit that leaves a bullet in a senator and Machete a wanted man.

Machete sets out to clear his name and expose a deep conspiracy. Helping Machete even the odds are
Luz, a sexy taco-truck lady with a rebellious spirit and revolutionary heart, and Padre, a priest who’s
good with blessings but better with guns. Carving a path of bullets, blood, and broken hearts, Machete’s
quest ultimately leads him back to Torrez for an epic battle of revenge and redemption." - Dread Central

Official Website | Grindhouse Trailer | IMDb Page | Wikipedia Entry
Box Office Mojo Page | Rotten Tomatoes Page​
 
Saw Machete. It wasn't as over the top as Kill Bill, but it was a fun film with a mild exploitation/B-movie style. I also liked that most of the scenes from the fake trailer were worked into the movie, although some shots were redone differently and/or with different players. And yes, even the pool scene with the two women was there, but with Lindsay Lohan as one of them. Danny Trejo had charisma in his first lead role and the rest of the all-star cast was good too. I especially liked Don Johnson and Jeff Fahey as the stereotypical bad guys. Having Steven Seagal in the movie was a real treat, but he did take some getting used to as a Mexican Drug Lord, though when I really think about it, I'm not sure I bought it completely. And Alba, she was serviceable, but not outstanding. Then there's Michelle Rodriguez who was hotter than I've ever seen her. They really did away with her butch image. Lohan, I was surprised to see playing a character very similar to her real-life public image. We didn't see much of her, but hopefully she'll get a bigger part in the sequel, Machete Kills, or better yet, Nuns With Guns, if that ever gets made. I'll give this one an "above average". I wish it was a little more over the top.
 
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I too voted "Above Average." A fun little film, though the candidato Manchuriano plot was needlessly complex, in my opinion. Less exposition would have been better, along with more head-chopping and naked women.
 
I'm giving it an Excellent because I found it thoroughly entertaining from start to finish. Frankly, I thought the fact that Seagall kinda sucked as a Mexican drug lord (his accent was ridiculous) was a perfect fit for the type of movie it was supposed to be.

Then there was Michelle Rodriguez. :drool:

And Lindsay Lohan nekkid. :drool:
 
Thought it was pretty good, but (much like Kickass) it definitely could have used less plot and more crazy, badass action. Those moments are AWESOME when they come, but unfortunately they're pretty few and far between.

But wow, the ladies in this were hot as hell. Even as just a side view, that shot of Alba in the shower has to be one of the most amazing images ever commited to film. :D
 
This movie was great fun. I laughed out loud during the hospital corridor escape.
 
Machete

Rated: R (Extreme Violence, Nudity, Sex)

My Grade: B

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I never saw "Grindhouse" and the lack of a DVD containing the "original" grindhouse, complete, release hasn't prompted me to do so. But I've seen the Machete "fake-trailer" included in the Grindhouse theater release and it looked like an awesome, funny, early-70s "mexploitation" sort-of way. The populairty of the trailer prompted a real movie to be made. The movie features (re-filmed) scenes from the Grindhouse trailer and seems to try and to create a "story" out of it.

It does a good job and pretty much succeeds at what it set out to do, make a fun, nonsensical and violent action movie. The violence in this movie is over-the-top and gratuitous the likes of which have not been seen in a long time. There's enough Karo-syrup in this movie to supply a Hostess factory for a decade. It's fun because the violence is so over the top.

Machete is a exiled Federale who is now an illegal immigrant in the US working as a day-laborer. One day he's approached by a man who offers 150,000 if Machete is willing to assassinate a Senatoral candidate campaigning on anti-imigration policies. Machete takes the job as he's really given no other choice and he finds himself as part of a convoluted cover-up involving both the senatoral candidate, campaign financers, and even some former foes in the Mexican government. They soon learn they've picked the wrong "fall guy" as Machete is, sort-of, a Jack Bauer as he is unstoppable, unkillable and seems to have the healing powers of Wolverine.

Along for the ride is Michele Rodriguez as a friend and, legal, operator of a taco truck and Jessica Alba as another leagal/naturalized hispanic now working for the INS. We also get Rober DeNiro as our senatoral candidate trying for re-election.

The movie comes at an odd time in our country where illegal immigration is already a hot and tense topic and, from my view, the movie is on the "wrong side" of the argument. While the "bad guys" in this movie wish the enforce the border with an electrified fence and with killing illegals (including a pregnant woman) there's still kind-of the fact that, well, they're crossing over illegaly. Which is where my problem begins. I've no problems with imigration but there's a legal way to do it and we can't just let anyone who wants to come over and be here, be here. All said, the extreme ways some in the government (both in the real world and in this fictional world) want to deal with things isn't right. This movie has some political views to say and they're not ones I'm completly on its side of but probably more on its side than the views of their proposed opposition -and the majority of the opposition in the real world.

Politics aside the movie is fun, the action and violence over the top, and Danny Trejo makes for a good lead character even if the character in this movie isn't developed much or given much to say. That's not the point of this movie, however. It's very much the 70s "Mexploitation" movie the Grindhouse trailer promised it would be. Also turning in a good peformance is Cheech as Machete's priest brother. If anything, Cheech is given not enough to do. Less impressive is Lindsay Lohan as a secondary character -the daughter of one of our villains, and stretching herself by playing a drugged out whore- as she's just not appealing in any way anymore. Michele Rodriguez is good as Machete's friend and companion in the battle, here's an actress who's stock is rising with me after having lost a lot of ground during her stint on Lost.

Good movie, fun time in the theater and just the kind of action movie one needs sometimes. Political bullshit aside, a must-see.
 
Does Machete (I haven't seen it yet) have an actual 'grindhouse' look and feel to it, like Death Proof/Planet Terror?
 
Mr. Laser Beam said:
Does Machete (I haven't seen it yet) have an actual 'grindhouse' look and feel to it, like Death Proof/Planet Terror?
Click to expand...

Not really. The picture is clean, clear and sharp, the expliosions and other effects just as sharp and what you'd expect to see in a modern-day action movie. I suspect it shrugged off the "Grindhouse" look due to the that movie not doing well with mass audiences. The only thing in the movie that has a rough, scratchy, "grindhouse" look is the opening-titles sequence.
 
Thought I read somewhere that LiLo's nekkidity was performed by a body double... This is on my list to see very soon.. The wife's not interested, but I'm working on it.. LOL..
 
Agent Richard07 said:
Didn't do too well at the box office. It came in second at $14 million.
Click to expand...
Success is always relative when it comes to Hollywood.

Finishing second place vs George "Mr.Hollywood" Clooney when Danny Trejo has never been more than a C-list character actor isn't bad.

It's also not bad making nearly 3/4 of your budget back in 3 days. Machete cost $20m to produce.

Heck I wouldn't be shocked if a sequel gets made cause its going to top out around $35m US domestic, give or take, when its all said and done.
 
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