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October 04, 2003

Quick Movie Review: Once Upon A Time In Mexico

Odds are, if you plan to see this you already have, so this probably comes too late...

But despite being a fan of action movies in general and the first two films of this loose trilogy in particular, I found this one to be a disapointment. Oh, the action scenes are nicely imagined (though too many are edited until their flow vanishes); Johnny Depp follows up his Cap'n Jack Sparrow from early this summer with a sharp performance as CIA Agent Sands, a man of rather distinctly unique methods; and the look is quite good (particularly knowing that it was filmed on video).

But the story is incoherent. Too many characters crowd the story, many of whom serve no apparent purpose except to crowd the story. Characters change sides before we even figure out what side they were on, and long before we care. Major set pieces exist just for themselves, advancing the plot not one tiny bit. While I'm pretty sure I know what happened, I'm quite sure I don't understand what half the characters were trying to do.

I've made more sense out of Hong Kong action movies watched in Cantonese without subtitles (and no, I don't speak a word of Cantonese).

It's fun to watch, and the action scenes are well worth ripping off for Feng Shui play... But I like there to be just a bit more effort taken to tell me a story, not just wow me with visuals.

And there wasn't nearly enough Salma Hayek.

Posted by ghoul at October 4, 2003 07:58 PM

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