Once upon a time I fell asleep (Once Upon a Time in Mexico (DVD))

Member Name: rappinhood

Product:	Once Upon a Time in Mexico (DVD)
Date:	02/08/05 (101 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Johnny Depp

Disadvantages: everything else

Once upon a time is a phrase that conjures up images of magic and mayhem. There’s certainly plenty of mayhem in Once Upon a Time in Mexico, but not much of anything else.

Drugs lord Barillo (Willem Dafoe) is masterminding a plot to assassinate the Mexican president, mostly as a distraction from his planned clean getaway. He is aided in this by the corrupt and lunatic CIA agent Sands (played superbly by Johnny Depp). The idea is that he will use General Marquez (Gerardo Vigil) to kill the President, but then he’s afraid that Marquez will assume power, the last thing anyone wants. Sands hires the Mariachi (Antonio Banderas) to take Marquez out after the assassination, knowing that the Mariachi and Marquez have old scores to settle. The scene is set for a succession of shoot-outs and double-crossings which result in a few surprises and quite a few deaths. Other characters with a role to play are a retired FBI agent (Ruben Blades) who has a score to settle with Barillo, a CIA agent (Eva Mendes) who is not what she seems and exiled US criminal Billy (Mickey Rourke) who walks around with a Chihuahua for the whole movie.

This film has a fine cast of actors, but with one exception, none of them is used to advantage. All the performances seem muted and you never really get interested in the characters and their motivations. This is just as well, because the plot is so loosely threaded that you’re unlikely to be able to keep track anyway. I certainly couldn’t. The sole exception is Johnny Depp who is in his element as the corrupt and unhinged CIA agent. There are no depths to which he will not sink. A clever bit of fakery enables him to cheat death several times and his single kind act pays dividends when he is given assistance at a time of need.

The soundtrack features lots of Spanish guitar and is pleasant enough, though it contributes to the spaghetti Western feel of the film. This is helped by lots of shots of dry, dusty town squares.

There were a few moments that made me laugh out loud. Watch out for the guitar cases in a street fighting scene. There were also several instances of violence and cruelty. Mercifully, most of this was said rather than shown, though the macabre consequences were often visible. Look out for Sands wandering through the streets on the Day of the Dead and you’ll know what I mean.

I’m glad I didn’t spend money on this film – it was a freebie from our DVD rental company. I kept watching because I kept thinking that there had to be more to the story or that it would all hang together nicely – it didn’t. What a waste of an hour and a half. If it hadn’t been for Johnny Depp, it wouldn’t have merited even two stars.

If you like lots of shooting and characters who survive impossible situations by improbable means, then you’ll probably love it. If, like me, you want a bit more coherence to the story, you’ll either hate it or be bored.

Thanks for reading.

Summary: Mediocre film lifted by a good performance from Johnny Depp