It had been years since I watched the first Machete when I recently decided to give this one a watch primarily because Amber Heard is in it. And it was such a pleasant and fun experience watching it that it made me regret not having watched it sooner. It also reminded me why, despite (or because of) its ridiculousness, I enjoyed the first Machete too. What made the first Machete so appealing was its deliberately campy and goofy presentation as well as its exploitative gore-ish scenes, and this is exactly what made this one appealing too. Moreover, the performances and the central narrative and themes in this one give it somewhat of an edge over the first one. I mean, the movie, through comedy, gives a strong socio-political commentary against the racism, xenophobia and corruption that underlie immigration issues within and outside the US, and it does this in a well-performed and palatably comical way that is not so in-your-face yet is absolutely memorable. What is there not to like about this?
Focusing on the performances, you'd think that it's the star-studded cast of the movie that, in itself, made it so fun to watch. You'd be wrong to think this because none of the big names in the movie - e.g. Cuba Gooding Jr., Antonio Banderas, Mel Gibson, Charlie Sheen, Jessica Alba, Vanessa Hudgens, Lady Gaga, Alexa PenaVega and William Sadler - gives anything substantially memorable at all to it, which just shows that their inclusion in it was for marketing optics. Instead, the performances that gave the movie its edge were those of, primarily, Danny Trejo (as Machete) and Amber Heard (as Miss San Antonio). Just as in the first Machete, Trejo does an impressive job with Machete's face, which he makes say so much without Machete having to say anything at all. In fact, it is perhaps Machete's stoic and serious demeanor, largely communicated through his face, that is responsible for most of the laughs in the movie.
Miss San Antonio (played by Heard), on the other hand, is almost the polar opposite of Machete despite the two sharing a lot in common. For instance, what Machete uses silence to express Miss San Antonio uses colorful words to communicate. In no scene is this more apparent than in the scene where the two characters first meet. And yet, both she and Machete are ruthless as they are determined in the achievement of their respective goals. This is on top of the fact that they're both badass fighters that are really fun to watch. Needless to say, it is through Heard's unapologetically direct A-list acting that Miss San Antonio gets to be one of the main unique attractions of this movie compared to its predecessor.
As something of an enthusiast of Heard's career, I think it apt to observe at this point that her role in this movie shows how much she had grown as an actor by that time. Not only is this evident in the fact that she managed to land such a prominent supporting role in as star-studded a movie as this one, it is also apparent in the confidence, authenticity, power and humor that she manages to infuse into Miss San Antonio. In addition, this role showcases her acting range both within the movie and within her career as a whole because, as Miss San Antonio, Heard shows us that she's at home being absurdly funny while at the same time being shockingly badass. And while her role as Vivi Delay in 3 Days to Kill (2014) - a role she probably landed because of how good she was in Machete Kills - is comparable to this one in many ways, Delay is not developed with as much breadth as Miss San Antonio is and so she does not give Heard as much room as Miss Antonio does to display her versatility as an actor. Interestingly, one could describe Miss San Antonio as "Piper (from Drive Angry, 2011) meets Vivi Delay" because she embodies the goofy and carefree badass-ery of Piper, and the intelligence, elegance and ruthlessness of Delay. Ultimately, the performances of Heard in Machete Kills and 3 Days to Kill stand out in her career as having brought her unprecedented mainstream recognition as well as having solidified her brilliance in action movies as well as in comedies. They also underlined Heard's skill in transforming women characters that would otherwise have been reduced to mere sexual objects by their writers and viewers into characters with a depth and autonomy that is as entertaining to watch as it is captivating and thought-provoking.
Aside from Heard and Trejo's performances, Sofia Vergara (as Desdemona) also deserves a mention because she did the best she could do with a highly sexually objectified and underdeveloped character. The job that she did to make Desdemona's presence on-screen be more tangible (in being more than merely a comic relief) is commendable in its own right.
All these positives aside, the movie has several drawbacks that are worth noting. For one, its representation of women is poor both in terms of numbers and in terms of unnecessarily sexually objectifying women and promoting misogynistic content. Similarly, its racial representation (in terms of African-American characters) is problematic. Furthermore, the presence of so many big-name stars in the movie, many of whom are entirely unnecessary (e.g. Elon Musk) and some of whom are abusive bigots (e.g. Mel Gibson and Musk) is also a drawback for me. The fact that the writers killed off Miss San Antonio in the end is also a drawback for me because I would have a loved to see a sequel in which she and Machete go one on one against each other.
Because of these and other problems, I could have given the movie a 6-star rating. However, the presence of Heard and her brilliant performance elevated this to an 8-star rating. I'd recommend the movie to you if you're looking for a light movie that doesn't take itself too seriously with which to unwind. I'd also recommend it if you're a fan of gore and action comedies, especially grindhouse and other kinds of exploitative cinema. Also, if you're a fan of Heard or are curious about her acting career, this is a must-watch because it would be impossible to have a complete portrait of Heard's acting without watched Miss San Antonio in action. In all, I think most people would enjoy this movie because of its absurd comedy and action and the magnificent performances by Trejo and Heard.
Focusing on the performances, you'd think that it's the star-studded cast of the movie that, in itself, made it so fun to watch. You'd be wrong to think this because none of the big names in the movie - e.g. Cuba Gooding Jr., Antonio Banderas, Mel Gibson, Charlie Sheen, Jessica Alba, Vanessa Hudgens, Lady Gaga, Alexa PenaVega and William Sadler - gives anything substantially memorable at all to it, which just shows that their inclusion in it was for marketing optics. Instead, the performances that gave the movie its edge were those of, primarily, Danny Trejo (as Machete) and Amber Heard (as Miss San Antonio). Just as in the first Machete, Trejo does an impressive job with Machete's face, which he makes say so much without Machete having to say anything at all. In fact, it is perhaps Machete's stoic and serious demeanor, largely communicated through his face, that is responsible for most of the laughs in the movie.
Miss San Antonio (played by Heard), on the other hand, is almost the polar opposite of Machete despite the two sharing a lot in common. For instance, what Machete uses silence to express Miss San Antonio uses colorful words to communicate. In no scene is this more apparent than in the scene where the two characters first meet. And yet, both she and Machete are ruthless as they are determined in the achievement of their respective goals. This is on top of the fact that they're both badass fighters that are really fun to watch. Needless to say, it is through Heard's unapologetically direct A-list acting that Miss San Antonio gets to be one of the main unique attractions of this movie compared to its predecessor.
As something of an enthusiast of Heard's career, I think it apt to observe at this point that her role in this movie shows how much she had grown as an actor by that time. Not only is this evident in the fact that she managed to land such a prominent supporting role in as star-studded a movie as this one, it is also apparent in the confidence, authenticity, power and humor that she manages to infuse into Miss San Antonio. In addition, this role showcases her acting range both within the movie and within her career as a whole because, as Miss San Antonio, Heard shows us that she's at home being absurdly funny while at the same time being shockingly badass. And while her role as Vivi Delay in 3 Days to Kill (2014) - a role she probably landed because of how good she was in Machete Kills - is comparable to this one in many ways, Delay is not developed with as much breadth as Miss San Antonio is and so she does not give Heard as much room as Miss Antonio does to display her versatility as an actor. Interestingly, one could describe Miss San Antonio as "Piper (from Drive Angry, 2011) meets Vivi Delay" because she embodies the goofy and carefree badass-ery of Piper, and the intelligence, elegance and ruthlessness of Delay. Ultimately, the performances of Heard in Machete Kills and 3 Days to Kill stand out in her career as having brought her unprecedented mainstream recognition as well as having solidified her brilliance in action movies as well as in comedies. They also underlined Heard's skill in transforming women characters that would otherwise have been reduced to mere sexual objects by their writers and viewers into characters with a depth and autonomy that is as entertaining to watch as it is captivating and thought-provoking.
Aside from Heard and Trejo's performances, Sofia Vergara (as Desdemona) also deserves a mention because she did the best she could do with a highly sexually objectified and underdeveloped character. The job that she did to make Desdemona's presence on-screen be more tangible (in being more than merely a comic relief) is commendable in its own right.
All these positives aside, the movie has several drawbacks that are worth noting. For one, its representation of women is poor both in terms of numbers and in terms of unnecessarily sexually objectifying women and promoting misogynistic content. Similarly, its racial representation (in terms of African-American characters) is problematic. Furthermore, the presence of so many big-name stars in the movie, many of whom are entirely unnecessary (e.g. Elon Musk) and some of whom are abusive bigots (e.g. Mel Gibson and Musk) is also a drawback for me. The fact that the writers killed off Miss San Antonio in the end is also a drawback for me because I would have a loved to see a sequel in which she and Machete go one on one against each other.
Because of these and other problems, I could have given the movie a 6-star rating. However, the presence of Heard and her brilliant performance elevated this to an 8-star rating. I'd recommend the movie to you if you're looking for a light movie that doesn't take itself too seriously with which to unwind. I'd also recommend it if you're a fan of gore and action comedies, especially grindhouse and other kinds of exploitative cinema. Also, if you're a fan of Heard or are curious about her acting career, this is a must-watch because it would be impossible to have a complete portrait of Heard's acting without watched Miss San Antonio in action. In all, I think most people would enjoy this movie because of its absurd comedy and action and the magnificent performances by Trejo and Heard.
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