Is a fake movie trailer enough to base a full-length feature film on? Director Robert Rodriguez attempts to answer this question in the exploitation action flick, "Machete" (based on the movie trailer he directed in "Grindhouse"). Danny Trejo stars as an ex-Federale named Machete, with revenge on the brain and nothing left to lose. A Mexican crime boss murdered Machete's wife and family and left him for dead. Now he's a vigilante hunting down the man who tried to kill him. But when he's framed for the attempted murder of a high-profile politician, he'll need to enlist the help of friends in low places to clear his name and wage war on the Mexican mob. To say this film is violent would be an understatement; there's more dismemberments, impalings, and eviscerations than one can count. Rodriguez does his best to keep the action gruesomely entertaining. But with a plot weaker than costar Jessica Alba's acting, the story has nowhere to go. It just becomes one gory scene after another, with mediocre jokes thrown in to show the funny irony of it all. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good comical beheading as much as the next guy. But here the violence is so relentless and senseless that after awhile, the movie wears tired and thin. Maybe next time Rodriguez will take a page from the book of his friend and frequent collaborator, Quentin Tarantino, and watch "Inglourious Basterds" for an example of how extreme violence and captivating storytelling can coexist harmoniously.
2 out of 5 stars
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