After watching Machete, I was left thinking of one word: excess. There was excess of everything - nudity, decapitation, cruciform, literally gut-wrenching scenes, sharp objects, stereotypes, sexiness, illegal immigrants, incredulous characters and more. Never have I seen so many random inventions and contraptions used for so many jaw-dropping kills. Only Robert Rodriguez's other films come close to matching Machete's violent bravado.
Rodriguez wrote Machete in 1993 but waited for the opportunity to introduce it as a mock trailer in the Grindhouse double feature, which included Rodriguez's Planet Terror and Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof. (Machete aired during the Planet Terror portion.)
Although Planet Terror was enjoyable, Machete is truly an A-level movie disguised as a 1980s B-level mexploitation film. Because of its immense amounts of religious symbolism and makeshift weaponry, it also is particularly reminiscent of Rodriguez's From Dusk Till Dawn (1996).
But Machete also is notable for its characters. From a Texas senator meant to parody George W. Bush (Robert De Niro), to a Mexican drug lord/samurai (Steven Seagal), Rodriguez toys with all kinds of comical, over-the-top roles. Even Lindsay Lohan has a great part. She manages to pull off a druggie - unsurprisingly - who becomes a gun-toting nun. Finally, Danny Trejo brings exactly what you expected from his character Machete - a tattooed, scarred badass with memorable quotes and a penchant for killing with knives. Oh, and of course he gets the attention of all the women - including the stunning Jessica Alba and Michelle Rodriguez.
One other interesting aspect of the film is Rodriguez's play on the Western genre. Although most Westerns are characterized by the lonesome white cowboy of few words trying to overcome the natives of the area, Machete completely reverses the roles of cowboy and natives. The character Machete is best described as a Mexican immigrant of few words and expressions, trying to overcome the white male politicians and government officials.
The only thing missing from Machete is subtlety. Everything, from savage action to symbolism, screams at you from the screen. Some critics might frown upon this lack of nuance, but I see it as an integral aspect of the film. One of Rodriguez's central goals in Machete was to overload the audience on all the elements of B-movies. All this excess creates an amazing experience for any audience in the mood for a hilariously raunchy and violent film. Machete brings everything an audience could expect, combining a stellar cast of extravagant characters, exuberant amounts of stereotypes and enough clever action to last a lifetime - or 10.
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