Machete Kills

Robert Rodriguez – 2013 – USA

This is the kind of film that may re-emerge as a misunderstood masterpiece at some point in the future, but for now, I have to regard it as one of Robert Rodriguez’s least satisfying films.  It seems to me that the whole point of the grindhouse phenomenon that Rodriguez loves so much was that whatever cheesy elements in those films was unintentional.  I think he recreated this sensibility perfectly in Planet Terror (2007) and only slightly in the first Machete (2010).  Instead of honing, though, Rodriguez has opted to splurge, going for pure wackiness; turning the film into more of an Austin Powers affair.  The problem is that the perpetual winking at the audience is strained and wears out its welcome extremely quickly.  While one of the delights of Sin City (2005) and Planet Terror was craggy-faced character actors like Powers Boothe and Michael Parks popping up here and there, now we have major stars making cameos.  I suppose Rodriguez was trying to avoid repeating himself by making the switch to broad comedy, and the intention was probably something similar to sequels like Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) and Gremlins 2 (1990): i.e. to turn the sequel into a parody of its predecessor rather than a continuation.  But whatever was the case, it simply doesn’t work.  I found Machete Kills – in whatever tone it adopted – pretty hard to get through, and I have no desire to see it again soon.