2/4  See the other films in the trilogy first
"El Mariachi" (Antonio Banderas) is back, and is recruited by a corrupt CIA agent (Johnny Depp) to prevent the assassination of the president of Mexico, which is being planned by cartel lord, "Barrillo" (Willem Dafoe).

"Once Upon A Tim... (read full)

2/4  Once Upon a Time in Mexico Quick Review
Didn't care for this movie as much as the first 2 films (Desperado, El Mariachi)

2/4  Once Upon a Time in Mexico Quick Review
Although I really like Desperado, this third film fails to make the same impact, even with Johnny Depp along for the ride. It still has that stylized, glossy look, but the impact is gone and the story meanders too much.

2.5/4  Once Upon a Time in Mexico Quick Review
The movie is good but very cheesy.

4/5 america's critic
  by David R. Lingard (memphis tn)
this was perfect a differnet volume for the collection loved the shoot out scenes loved eva mendes and hayak,, jonney depp was great only thought it could have been a lil more fast paced-- one for the collection

3/5 violence adventure
  by Dino Quintanilla Jr. (Garland, Tx USA)
Once upon a Time in Mexico is an exciting adventure movie with
Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, and Johnny Depp. However, this movie has a lot vulgar language and violence.

3/5 Enrique
  by Gayle Ramsay (Colmar Manor, MD United States)
I only bought this movie because Enrique Iglesias was in it. It was a small part. Rumor has it, he didn't like his performance and swore to never do another movie agian. I hope that isn't true.
Other than that, I also liked Antonio Banderas. I am not a big Johnny Depp fan and thought this was too much about him and way over the top. Should have cut out the last few minutes altogether.

5/5 Once Upon A Time
  by Annette Johnson
I have received my purchase in a timely matter @ a good rate thank you.

3/5 El, you really must try this because it's pureco pibil. It's a slow roasted pork, nothing fancy...
  by S. M. Robare (Duluth, GA USA)
Once Upon a Time in Mexico is one of those very odd movies that I love for a ton of reasons, most of which really have nothing to do with the movie itself. It took me forever to actually sit down and watch this third entry (actually the forth if you count the fact that the third will probably never be filmed) in the Mariachi trilogy after missing it's initial run in theaters. It had been on the Netflix queue for ages and I'd heard nothing good about it from friends so it actually ended up arriving by accident when I forgot to rearrange the order of the waiting movies.

I'm a pretty big fan of Rodriguez, and the Mariachi flicks in particular because these were some of the first flicks that I watched in high school that opened the door to new and interesting movies I'd never considered watching before. The first two flicks, El Mariachi and Desperado, were also some of the first DVDs I'd ever purchased, not to mention some of my first experiences with DVD special features. After listening to the commentaries on both flicks I was forever spoiled by Rodriguez's amazing talent for swift, insightful, entertaining and just plain awesome commentary and have since never quite found anything that lives up to it.

The first time I finally sat down and watched it I wasn't sure what to think. On the one hand, it was visually interesting, one of the prettiest films I've seen shot on an HD digital camera, and the acting and character work was awesome (with a particularly great performance from Johnny Depp as Agent Sands, the Pureco Pibil loving, double crossing, crazed CIA agent.) Hell, I even enjoyed Enrique Iglesias. The story on the other hand was so convoluted and confusing that I was lost through most of the film. It doesn't help that the film is not a direct sequel to Desperado, instead it's the story that takes place after what would be sequel, and only makes a few flashbacks to the un-filmed third installment. Add to this the fact that the Mariachi, once again portrayed by Antonio Banderas (who replaced Carlos Gallardo from El Mariachi), isn't the main character. Instead the movie is really more about Depp's Agent Sands, though there are actually more like two or three different narratives going on all at once. It's just really confusing as all hell. It's actually similar to the differences between the first and second films, much like the first two Evil Dead flicks. Desperado is more or less a remake of El Mariachi, though it really isn't. This is also inspired by the Sergio Leone "man with no name" trilogy in that there are slight differences that don't quite add up between the films even though they are about the same characters.

It wasn't until I listened to the commentary and watched the special features that I truly got a feel for how awesome an achievement this movie really is. Much like El Mariachi this film was shot under insane circumstances, done entirely in something like a month with a paltry 45 page script. Add to this the fact that for the first two weeks of filming, since the gun intended for use during filming were delayed at the border, the actors had to use rubber prop guns, which were digitally altered in post production to make them look as if they were firing. There were also scheduling conflicts that forced Rodriguez to film actors separately and then he cut the scenes together to make it appear as if both were on screen together. His use of CGI was also particularly inspired as well, servicing as bullet hits, squib effects, and in otherwise small places where it's almost unnoticeable.

The film was also shot right before a proposed actor strike, done so quickly that it was written, shot, and cut before the strike deadline. As an example, he had Johnny Depp for only 9 days on the the set and he's in the majority of the film. When you consider all that went into this film, it's actually a wonder that it came out as well as it did.

Add to this the very first 10-Minute Cooking School special feature in which Rodriguez teaches the viewers to make Agent Sands favorite Mexican meal Pureco Pibil. I've made it based on Rodriguez's instructions a number of times and it's now once of my favorite dishes, both to prepare and eat. So it's very hard for me to not love this movie, and in turn this DVD, as well as the sweet double sided combo disc that contains the first two flicks. This is a trilogy that I can really get behind.