Desperado (1995)

A spaghetti western in every sense of the word, "Desperado" is an exhilarating ride from start to finish. Stylish, humorous, and thoroughly engaging, it tells the tale of one mariachi's quest for revenge and redemption. Banderas delivers the performance that made him a star as the titular desperado. Smoldering and suave, he knows how to shoot up a bar as well as he masters the more romantic elements in the film, especially when the equally stunning Hayek comes into the picture. Their escape from a hotel together, resulting in the famous jumping off the roof scene, is pure pulp entertainment. Rodriguez should focus on making more films like this -- homages to great B- movies produced on an A-level scale.

The film opens up as an action film should... with action and the right amount. My expectations became high after the first scene but this time Antonio Banderas made this movie boring. He did not do justice to his character. I always felt as if something was amiss throughout the movie and really there were lots of those things. Definitely there is the typical Mexican cowboy type action but having only that does not solve the purpose of a movie. I hated the lead actor the most followed by the romance or the love at first sight between the two main lead. That scene was nowhere . I mean that scene made me feel very terrible as if something came out of the blue.Well coming to other aspects, the music is okay, the locations are really nice. My final verdict the film loses its charm due to poor script and bad acting.

I absolutely loved this movie, and ever since watching it as a young boy, it has become a classic and a must have movie in any collection. Desperado is a film about a former traveling musician who seeks revenge for the murder of his lover, and the maiming of his guitar hand by drug dealer. The main character comes to focus his anger and hate on "El Bucho", a high ranking drug cartel responsible for much of drug trafficking in the community. This is made clear within the first 20 minutes of the movie, which I thought was awesome. The main character, El Mariachi, has already killed the murderer of his lover in the last film, yet he continues to kill drug dealers. I felt like this gave the main character a great opportunity to grow in the film, he was obviously still reeling from the loss of his woman, and the inability to express his love of music by playing guitar because of his hand. I felt that when he got revenge on the murderer he didn't feel the relief he thought he would feel, so he transferred his rage to the next drug dealer, and the next until finally deciding that maybe bringing down the leader of the cartel would finally bring him some peace. I think it was great how he eventually overcame his sorrow through the help of Carolina.

A very different and much livelier sequel sees a more known actor, step into a shoes of that mysterious guitarist whose case stores an arsenal of death. Yes, he's that mysterious stranger whose somehow acquired a gift for gunfire overnight, or was it a silent deadly talent. Whatever it is, this non stop spectacle of action, amidst explosions and bloodshed is just that, not to be taken seriously. Bubblegum escapist fare. Cool, sexy Banderas makes a name for himself as the new bad..rse, out to settle a score if you know, from watching the first, only to receive a thunderblow of shock as to the identity of the avenged. Joaquin De Almedia is fantastic as the deadly Bucho, (only film I saw him in before-The Honorary Consul, what happened?) who's entourage he sends to find this so called myth of a man, only results in them coming back dead or injured. Banderas is great as the new hero, you so much vouch for, one cool gunslinger, and this is his movie. The way those two pistols pop up from under his coat sleeves is so cool, as many other things in this flick are. A movie, did you ask? No. A non stop action flick, super spectacular, just to get lost in, as well as Hayek's beauty, a fitting song, in light of the head turning accidents she causes. Buscemi is likable and funny as Bandera's sender of bad news, through his carefully detailed stories, that send of hearts racing. QT's joke goes down as a killer in my book, and he's so well enunciated, as he tells it (you'll split your heels) lapping it up for the camera. We catch momentary frames of him that actually paint as a different bad dude character, where really sometimes directors should stay where they belong. Danny Trejo, adds great nasty menace too as one nasty ugly Mexican, 15 years shy of his Machete role, who you don't want to f..k with. A much contrast to his role in Heat as one of Deniro's posse. Too in these sort of escapist fares, we have scenes of incredulity, one including Banderas, falling backwards onto the roof of a much lower building and not braking his back. Check out the opening credit scene with Banderas and his mariachi's capturing the attention of a room full of bar patrons, playing a great guitar playing track. Action, action, action, action, and more action. I can't put it better. We have bits of humor too, adding flavour, but mostly it's in not so happy instances. You will admire, revenge filled Banderas's persistence and stamina too.