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 (Danny Trejo), a legendary ex-Federale with a deadly attitude and the skills to match.
Left for dead after clashing with notorious Mexican drug kingpin Torrez (Steven Seagal), 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 Senator McLaughlin (Robert De Niro) and Machete a wanted man.
When GRINDHOUSE came out in 2007, in between the two films that made up the movie was a fake trailer for a new Robert Rodriguez film called MACHETE. Made as a joke, RR culled the best bits from an old screenplay that he had written and made the trailer and thought that was it.
Three years and a lot of pressure from fans to make good on the promise of that trailer comes – MACHETE.
The performances in the movie are better than the material deserves and that’s exactly why this film works as well as it does. Danny Trejo finally steps into a lead role and gets to kick ass all up and down Texas. While stunt casting is always a risky move, the additions of Robert De Niro, Don Johnson, Steven Seagal and Lindsay Lohan add a sense of depth that the film benefits from.
Using real world issues, Rodriguez and Maniquis temper the unbelievable with enough reality so the ‘message’ of the movie still resonates but doesn’t overshadow the fun.
There is literally tons of blood and violence in this so don’t expect a movie that holds back. If the film took itself seriously, I don’t think it would have gotten away with half of the guns and gore that’s in there.
The film is a love letter to the faithful fans of Rodriguez. It’s raw, cringe-inducing and just plain bad-ass.
MACHETE is rated MA15+ and is in cinemas now
I give this film 4 out of 5