His name is not Oswald! It’s Penguin! But there’s another Penguin floating about Gotham other than just Danny DeVito – and despite previous statements pointing to the contrary, DeVito is giving Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb his approval.
While Colin Farrell made an immediate mark as the Penguin in 2022’s The Batman, his namesake HBO show has shown just how much he has transformed the character, playing him like a harp from hell. And DeVito can’t help but give credit where it’s due, saying of Farrell’s Penguin, “Oh, Colin’s giving me a run for my money. And it’s totally different. I’ve been watching it. I haven’t watched the whole thing, but I watched most of what was out…and you know, it’s really good.” Obviously the show was all DeVito needed to turn the other beak, as he said after The Batman’s release that his own Penguin was superior to Farrell’s.
Still, Danny DeVito notices just how different the two takes on Penguin are, adding, “But I think we both really do a substantially good job with Oswald from different angles. You know, mine had no Italian overtones of mafia or guns in that way. I was just the, you know, egomaniac trying to take over the city. I was, you know, a misunderstood bird, a bird who cannot fly. So mine is a totally different character than in The Penguin with Colin, which is good. It’s good. Here you got a gangster penguin. It’s fine, and he’s doing a great job.” He, too, praised the makeup as entirely transforming Farrell into the Penguin, something that didn’t entirely happen with him on Batman Returns (although it didn’t need to, either, since one of the draws was seeing DeVito as the character).
It’s been more than three decades since Danny DeVito last played Penguin (aka Oswald Cobblepot), but he might still have a hankering for the character, expressing an interest in reprising him if Tim Burton were to direct another movie. Since we know there’s zero chance of that happening, we’ll stick with Colin Farrell, who wants to return for a second season of The Penguin.
Let’s settle this: which version of Penguin do you think is the best? Put one on the pedestal by commenting below.
His name is not Oswald! It’s Penguin! But there’s another Penguin floating about Gotham other than just Danny DeVito – and despite previous statements pointing to the contrary, DeVito is giving Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb his approval.
While Colin Farrell made an immediate mark as the Penguin in 2022’s The Batman, his namesake HBO show has shown just how much he has transformed the character, playing him like a harp from hell. And DeVito can’t help but give credit where it’s due, saying of Farrell’s Penguin, “Oh, Colin’s giving me a run for my money. And it’s totally different. I’ve been watching it. I haven’t watched the whole thing, but I watched most of what was out…and you know, it’s really good.” Obviously the show was all DeVito needed to turn the other beak, as he said after The Batman’s release that his own Penguin was superior to Farrell’s.
Still, Danny DeVito notices just how different the two takes on Penguin are, adding, “But I think we both really do a substantially good job with Oswald from different angles. You know, mine had no Italian overtones of mafia or guns in that way. I was just the, you know, egomaniac trying to take over the city. I was, you know, a misunderstood bird, a bird who cannot fly. So mine is a totally different character than in The Penguin with Colin, which is good. It’s good. Here you got a gangster penguin. It’s fine, and he’s doing a great job.” He, too, praised the makeup as entirely transforming Farrell into the Penguin, something that didn’t entirely happen with him on Batman Returns (although it didn’t need to, either, since one of the draws was seeing DeVito as the character).
It’s been more than three decades since Danny DeVito last played Penguin (aka Oswald Cobblepot), but he might still have a hankering for the character, expressing an interest in reprising him if Tim Burton were to direct another movie. Since we know there’s zero chance of that happening, we’ll stick with Colin Farrell, who wants to return for a second season of The Penguin.
Let’s settle this: which version of Penguin do you think is the best? Put one on the pedestal by commenting below.
One of the stars of ABC’s beloved T.G.I.F. comedy block, Dave Coulier, who portrayed the resident comedic guardian in the popular family sitcom Full House, has delivered some shocking news for fans. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Coulier told People Magazine an unfortunate development was announced to him when he went to the doctor for what he initially thought was a head cold and he had been diagnosed with Stage 3 Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.
Per THR, Coulier revealed that he received the diagnosis in October after an upper respiratory infection caused swelling in his lymph nodes. This lead his doctor to advise him on getting PET and CT scans, as well as a biopsy. Coulier recalls, “Three days later, my doctors called me back and they said, ‘We wish we had better news for you, but you have non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and it’s called B cell and it’s very aggressive.’” He continued, “I went from, I got a little bit of a head cold to I have cancer, and it was pretty overwhelming. This has been a really fast roller coaster ride of a journey.”
The heartbreaking diagnosis would drive Coulier into action as he assembled close friends who are in medicine along with his wife to hit this condition “head-on.” He would also share that his bone marrow test has come back negative, “At that point, my chances of curable went from something low to 90 percent range. And so that was a great day.” Coulier also shared on The Today Show that he had been through three surgeries since he was diagnosed five weeks ago andhe has already started chemotherapy, with the chemo treatments expected to wrap in February.
The actor who played Joey Gladstone told Today, “Should be total remission by that time. Fingers crossed. I’m treating this as a journey. If I can help someone who’s watching today get an early screening — a breast exam, a colonoscopy, a prostate exam — go do it because, for me, early detection meant everything.” As the usual side effect of chemo involves losing hair, Coulier said he made a “preemptive strike” to shave his head. He added, “I kind of look like a little baby bird now.”
One of the stars of ABC’s beloved T.G.I.F. comedy block, Dave Coulier, who portrayed the resident comedic guardian in the popular family sitcom Full House, has delivered some shocking news for fans. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Coulier told People Magazine an unfortunate development was announced to him when he went to the doctor for what he initially thought was a head cold and he had been diagnosed with Stage 3 Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.
Per THR, Coulier revealed that he received the diagnosis in October after an upper respiratory infection caused swelling in his lymph nodes. This lead his doctor to advise him on getting PET and CT scans, as well as a biopsy. Coulier recalls, “Three days later, my doctors called me back and they said, ‘We wish we had better news for you, but you have non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and it’s called B cell and it’s very aggressive.’” He continued, “I went from, I got a little bit of a head cold to I have cancer, and it was pretty overwhelming. This has been a really fast roller coaster ride of a journey.”
The heartbreaking diagnosis would drive Coulier into action as he assembled close friends who are in medicine along with his wife to hit this condition “head-on.” He would also share that his bone marrow test has come back negative, “At that point, my chances of curable went from something low to 90 percent range. And so that was a great day.” Coulier also shared on The Today Show that he had been through three surgeries since he was diagnosed five weeks ago andhe has already started chemotherapy, with the chemo treatments expected to wrap in February.
The actor who played Joey Gladstone told Today, “Should be total remission by that time. Fingers crossed. I’m treating this as a journey. If I can help someone who’s watching today get an early screening — a breast exam, a colonoscopy, a prostate exam — go do it because, for me, early detection meant everything.” As the usual side effect of chemo involves losing hair, Coulier said he made a “preemptive strike” to shave his head. He added, “I kind of look like a little baby bird now.”
Secret Level continues to look like a sizzle reel for a new console launch lineup, but in a good way. The Prime Video series featuring over a dozen stories set in the fantasy and sci-fi worlds of actual video (and tabletop) games has one last trailer before its premiere, and it’s packing in a lot, including the…
Secret Level continues to look like a sizzle reel for a new console launch lineup, but in a good way. The Prime Video series featuring over a dozen stories set in the fantasy and sci-fi worlds of actual video (and tabletop) games has one last trailer before its premiere, and it’s packing in a lot, including the…
The Yellowstone era of Kevin Costner’s career has come to an end, and viewers now know the fate of his character. The box office disappointment of his film Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 has left some wondering how he’s going to be able to complete his four-part Western epic (Chapter 2 has already been filmed, but Chapters 3 and 4 are left to go), which brought up the scheduling conflicts that caused him to exit Yellowstone in the first place… but Costner isn’t just sitting around, waiting to get back to the world of Horizon. Last month, it was announced that Costner is set to star in a horror thriller called Headhunters – and now, The Hollywood Reporter has broken the news that he’s being joined in the cast by Chloe East, who can currently be seen on the big screen in the horror movie Heretic, and Evan Mock (Gossip Girl).
Cinematographer Steven Holleran will be making his feature directorial debut with this film, which is based on an idea he originated. Holleran took the idea to Costner, and they’ve crafted the script together. Costner will be playing a character called Lazer, a washed-up American ex-pat with a mysterious past who finds himself living in Bali, Indonesia. Lazer recruits a group of surfers led by Bima, a local photographer, on a journey to an uncharted island to pioneer a perfect wave. To their surprise, the island is home to an ancient tribe of headhunters guarding the land at all costs. What ensues is an adventure turned survival story of epic and bloody proportions on a tropical island which once seemed to be paradise… but is actually closer to hell. Sounds to me like this has the potential to be an awesome movie. Kevin Costner vs. headhunters!
Also in the cast is Daniel Zovatto, whose credits include It Follows, Don’t Breathe, Beneath,The Pope’s Exorcist, Fear the Walking Dead, and Penny Dreadful: City of Angels. Zovatto has been on board since the project was first announced.
Headhunters is expected to start filming in Hawaii this month. Studios and streaming services are competing to secure the distribution rights. Costner and his producing partner Howard Kaplan are producing for Territory Pictures, while Scott Steindorff does the same for Stone Village Films, alongside the company’s Dylan Russell, Lindsay Davis, and Stacey Woods. Eric Hays is on board as physical producer. teindorff provided the following statement: “For decades, my friend Kevin and I have been searching for the right project to collaborate on. This is one of the best scripts I have seen in my career. Kevin is a legendary actor who brings so much depth and charisma to his roles, and has written an iconic horror script with Steve.“
Holleran, whose cinematography credits include Sympathy for the Devil, Missing, and Chick Fight, had this to say: “My filmmaking journey got its start in the ocean shooting surf videos in California as a teenager. Twenty years later, Headhunters brings things full circle and connects three life-long passions of mine — surfing, filmmaking, and adventure.“
Are you interested in Headhunters? What do you think of Chloe East and Evan Mock joining the cast? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Robert Rodriguez’s El Mariachi Trilogy or Mexico Trilogy is now available in a new Blu-ray collection, which includes a 4K transfer of Desperado, courtesy of Arrow Video. The first movie was never truly intended to be a franchise starter. It was actually Rodriguez practicing how to make a movie. El Mariachi would put him on the map for film studios, but it was the sequel, Desperado, that brought him into the mainstream. It would also make Antonio Banderas an action star and introduced audiences to Salma Hayek. And it’s this manic film that we take a look at in this episode of Reel Action.
If you’re into movies, chances are you’ve heard the inspirational story behind Robert Rodriguez’s debut feature film. But if you aren’t up to speed, 1995’s Desperado is actually a sequel to a small film from 1992 called El Mariachi. And when I say small, there’s no hyperbole here because the film gained fame and reputation for being an action movie that was made with only a $7,000 budget. This includes the fact that Rodriguez made the whole thing by himself with no crew.
It was this accomplishment of immense efficiency and creative problem solving that had Columbia Pictures excited to give him a studio film to helm since it could be made for cheap. While El Mariachi was only made for $7,000, Desperado would naturally be a bigger budgeted movie. But it was still incredibly cheap for most action movie standards, at $7 million.
When he was given the go ahead to make this sequel, he also took it as an opportunity to essentially remake the first one. The first film was simplistic enough that there wasn’t too much lore to be a slave to and, since most people hadn’t seen the first anyways, this one could stand pretty much on its own without having watched El Mariachi. The film starts by establishing the guitarist as an urban legend when Steve Buscemi’s character tells a story of when he saw the man with no name unleash his guitar case full of guns on an unlucky bar. This guitar player is simply credited as El Mariachi and, eventually, it’s shortened to “El” in the third movie. El is on a mission to find a man named Bucho — a dangerous drug kingpin in Mexico.
There is a quick backstory established for El Mariachi as they remake the ending of the first film with Antonio Banderas now stepping in the role. For audiences who hadn’t known about the original movie, this flashback comes off as a thin, but effective motivation. They killed his love and he wants revenge. A good old fashioned tale. While the villain who actually pulled the trigger was killed at the end of the first movie, El is now going to find the head of the snake.
Banderas takes over the role of El Mariachi from the first film’s star, Carlos Gallardo. Gallardo’s portrayal of the character in the original is more of a naive musician. He’s an everyman who gets thrust into a life or death situation, then has to fight his way out. Banderas’ take has El going full-on action hero as he packs an arsenal in his guitar case and wields dual pistols in a very John Woo-esque manner. He’s almost a completely different character. His look and mannerisms don’t resemble Gallardo’s. And it’s almost like there is very little innocence left in this man after the events of the first movie. He’s now jaded and focused entirely on vengeance.
The only two characters that El connects with in this movie is Niño, a random street kid who aspires to be a guitarist himself, and Carolina, a bookshop owner, played by Salma Hayek. El’s big brother instincts come out when Niño’s around. He gives him advice on his music and looks after his safety, which includes foiling a drug deal that involves Niño’s dad. Somehow, it became a tradition for Rodriguez to put a kid in a yellow shirt in each of the Mariachi movies. Here, Niño came away as the one with the most character development in the series.
Then, right after a big action scene early on in the movie, El runs into Carolina when he’s being hunted down by one of Bucho’s men. He’s left mortally wounded and she takes it upon herself to fix him up, thanks to the medical books in her own inventory. While Rodriguez writes a lot of humor throughout the movie, it’s in their first scene together that you can see Banderas and Hayek have a fun chemistry. It’s not exactly the smoothest, easiest start to a love interest plot, and their bickering gives the movie some great levity in between the action. Their chemistry would blossom into a close friendship in real life as they’ve continued bickering in almost a sibling-like fashion.
In the movie, their tension would later turn into white hot passion as Rodriguez puts the 90s action stamp on Desperado with a fiery Latin love scene that would give Van Damme and Stallone’s gratuitous sex scenes a run for their money. Carolina ends up being with El, but unfortunately, she’s also tied to Bucho since he bought the bookstore for her.
Bucho, here, is played by Joaquim de Almeida. Audiences may recognize him from a more recent stint as the villain from Fast Five, who also briefly reprised his role in Fast X. Rodriguez originally wanted Raul Julia in the role, but tragically, he was too ill at the time to accept and would pass away after filming his final movie, Street Fighter. De Almeida makes the role his own though. He plays Bucho with some good subversive humor as he continuously gets annoyed with this unknown stranger who waltzes into town and keeps killing his many henchmen.
This movie is also filled with Rodriguez’s staple of actors in some fun small roles. Steve Buscemi plays El’s only ally before getting to town. Cheech Marin shows up to provide some of his signature comedy as a bartender at one of Bucho’s establishments. Rodriguez’s close friend Quentin Tarantino makes an appearance as a drug customer in a scene where it seems likely that he wrote most of his dialogue. And Danny Trejo would make a splash in this film with his silent role as the knife-throwing assassin.
While Gallardo didn’t get to reprise his role cause the studio wanted a bigger name for the lead, he was still able to get in on the action as Campa, one of El’s bandmates, who also happens to be gunfighter. And he wields his own guitar case weapons that double as machine guns. And the third bandmate, Quino, also joins the fray with his guitar case that doubles as a missile launcher.
Desperado marks up the action from the first movie by nearly 100%. The gunplay of El Mariachi is more subdued, but here, the bullets and bodies fly in an extremely comic book-like fashion. The urban legend aspect bleeds into the rest of the movie as much of the action shamelessly indulges in an exaggerated, hyper-reality. Additionally, Rodriguez, being a fan of John Woo, wanted to mix in the kind of balletic chaos that defines his action sequences. So, if you’re looking for tactical, logic-based gun fights, you ain’t gonna find em here. And thankfully, Desperado leans way into it.
Now that Rodriguez had a lot more fancier toys to play with behind the scenes, there was a significant jump in quality from the do-it-yourself rougher edges of the first film. However, he wouldn’t stray too far from his corner-cutting methods. For starters, it’s extremely beneficial that not only does he direct, but he is his own editor as well as his own camera man. So, he pretty much can visualize how he wants the scene to be shot and edits the movie in his head while he films it.
In one of his signature Ten Minute Film Schools, Rodriguez shows how they pre-planned the standout bar shootout scene by taping a pre-visualization with a camcorder. He called this process video storyboards. The kinds of unorthodox methods he picked up making El Mariachi had Desperado’s filming schedule take place just over a month. The film became very profitable as it grossed a total of $58 million globally with its $7 million budget. It established Rodriguez as the new pulp action director, while Banderas and Hayek’s careers took off like a rocket.
During his time on the film, Quentin Tarantino told Rodriguez that he should make the third movie in this series an epic like Sergio Leone’s The Good, The Bad and The Ugly in the Dollars trilogy. He also said he should title it Once Upon a Time in Mexico as a tribute to Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West.
And that’s exactly what Rodriguez did with 2003’s Once Upon a Time in Mexico. The third movie was more epic with a coup plot that exploded into all out war in the finale. This film would also focus less on Banderas’ character with more of an ensemble cast that includes a scene-stealing new wildcard – Agent Sands – played by Johnny Depp, who’s having the time of his life.
Once Upon a Time in Mexico closed out the trilogy and Rodriguez would only revisit the franchise one more time in an attempt to adapt the first film into a TV series, but that would only last for one season. Desperado is fun, unpretentious entertainment that doesn’t take itself seriously. It doesn’t have much in terms of a plot. It’s almost like a series of vignettes in between the action scenes, but the performances are entertaining and the pace of the film never lets you get bored. It almost had the title El Pistolero, which means “the gunman.” And that’s exactly what you’re in for, a good old fashion video game-like shoot em up.
Robert Rodriguez’s El Mariachi Trilogy or Mexico Trilogy is now available in a new Blu-ray collection, which includes a 4K transfer of Desperado, courtesy of Arrow Video. The first movie was never truly intended to be a franchise starter. It was actually Rodriguez practicing how to make a movie. El Mariachi would put him on the map for film studios, but it was the sequel, Desperado, that brought him into the mainstream. It would also make Antonio Banderas an action star and introduced audiences to Salma Hayek. And it’s this manic film that we take a look at in this episode of Reel Action.
If you’re into movies, chances are you’ve heard the inspirational story behind Robert Rodriguez’s debut feature film. But if you aren’t up to speed, 1995’s Desperado is actually a sequel to a small film from 1992 called El Mariachi. And when I say small, there’s no hyperbole here because the film gained fame and reputation for being an action movie that was made with only a $7,000 budget. This includes the fact that Rodriguez made the whole thing by himself with no crew.
It was this accomplishment of immense efficiency and creative problem solving that had Columbia Pictures excited to give him a studio film to helm since it could be made for cheap. While El Mariachi was only made for $7,000, Desperado would naturally be a bigger budgeted movie. But it was still incredibly cheap for most action movie standards, at $7 million.
When he was given the go ahead to make this sequel, he also took it as an opportunity to essentially remake the first one. The first film was simplistic enough that there wasn’t too much lore to be a slave to and, since most people hadn’t seen the first anyways, this one could stand pretty much on its own without having watched El Mariachi. The film starts by establishing the guitarist as an urban legend when Steve Buscemi’s character tells a story of when he saw the man with no name unleash his guitar case full of guns on an unlucky bar. This guitar player is simply credited as El Mariachi and, eventually, it’s shortened to “El” in the third movie. El is on a mission to find a man named Bucho — a dangerous drug kingpin in Mexico.
There is a quick backstory established for El Mariachi as they remake the ending of the first film with Antonio Banderas now stepping in the role. For audiences who hadn’t known about the original movie, this flashback comes off as a thin, but effective motivation. They killed his love and he wants revenge. A good old fashioned tale. While the villain who actually pulled the trigger was killed at the end of the first movie, El is now going to find the head of the snake.
Banderas takes over the role of El Mariachi from the first film’s star, Carlos Gallardo. Gallardo’s portrayal of the character in the original is more of a naive musician. He’s an everyman who gets thrust into a life or death situation, then has to fight his way out. Banderas’ take has El going full-on action hero as he packs an arsenal in his guitar case and wields dual pistols in a very John Woo-esque manner. He’s almost a completely different character. His look and mannerisms don’t resemble Gallardo’s. And it’s almost like there is very little innocence left in this man after the events of the first movie. He’s now jaded and focused entirely on vengeance.
The only two characters that El connects with in this movie is Niño, a random street kid who aspires to be a guitarist himself, and Carolina, a bookshop owner, played by Salma Hayek. El’s big brother instincts come out when Niño’s around. He gives him advice on his music and looks after his safety, which includes foiling a drug deal that involves Niño’s dad. Somehow, it became a tradition for Rodriguez to put a kid in a yellow shirt in each of the Mariachi movies. Here, Niño came away as the one with the most character development in the series.
Then, right after a big action scene early on in the movie, El runs into Carolina when he’s being hunted down by one of Bucho’s men. He’s left mortally wounded and she takes it upon herself to fix him up, thanks to the medical books in her own inventory. While Rodriguez writes a lot of humor throughout the movie, it’s in their first scene together that you can see Banderas and Hayek have a fun chemistry. It’s not exactly the smoothest, easiest start to a love interest plot, and their bickering gives the movie some great levity in between the action. Their chemistry would blossom into a close friendship in real life as they’ve continued bickering in almost a sibling-like fashion.
In the movie, their tension would later turn into white hot passion as Rodriguez puts the 90s action stamp on Desperado with a fiery Latin love scene that would give Van Damme and Stallone’s gratuitous sex scenes a run for their money. Carolina ends up being with El, but unfortunately, she’s also tied to Bucho since he bought the bookstore for her.
Bucho, here, is played by Joaquim de Almeida. Audiences may recognize him from a more recent stint as the villain from Fast Five, who also briefly reprised his role in Fast X. Rodriguez originally wanted Raul Julia in the role, but tragically, he was too ill at the time to accept and would pass away after filming his final movie, Street Fighter. De Almeida makes the role his own though. He plays Bucho with some good subversive humor as he continuously gets annoyed with this unknown stranger who waltzes into town and keeps killing his many henchmen.
This movie is also filled with Rodriguez’s staple of actors in some fun small roles. Steve Buscemi plays El’s only ally before getting to town. Cheech Marin shows up to provide some of his signature comedy as a bartender at one of Bucho’s establishments. Rodriguez’s close friend Quentin Tarantino makes an appearance as a drug customer in a scene where it seems likely that he wrote most of his dialogue. And Danny Trejo would make a splash in this film with his silent role as the knife-throwing assassin.
While Gallardo didn’t get to reprise his role cause the studio wanted a bigger name for the lead, he was still able to get in on the action as Campa, one of El’s bandmates, who also happens to be gunfighter. And he wields his own guitar case weapons that double as machine guns. And the third bandmate, Quino, also joins the fray with his guitar case that doubles as a missile launcher.
Desperado marks up the action from the first movie by nearly 100%. The gunplay of El Mariachi is more subdued, but here, the bullets and bodies fly in an extremely comic book-like fashion. The urban legend aspect bleeds into the rest of the movie as much of the action shamelessly indulges in an exaggerated, hyper-reality. Additionally, Rodriguez, being a fan of John Woo, wanted to mix in the kind of balletic chaos that defines his action sequences. So, if you’re looking for tactical, logic-based gun fights, you ain’t gonna find em here. And thankfully, Desperado leans way into it.
Now that Rodriguez had a lot more fancier toys to play with behind the scenes, there was a significant jump in quality from the do-it-yourself rougher edges of the first film. However, he wouldn’t stray too far from his corner-cutting methods. For starters, it’s extremely beneficial that not only does he direct, but he is his own editor as well as his own camera man. So, he pretty much can visualize how he wants the scene to be shot and edits the movie in his head while he films it.
In one of his signature Ten Minute Film Schools, Rodriguez shows how they pre-planned the standout bar shootout scene by taping a pre-visualization with a camcorder. He called this process video storyboards. The kinds of unorthodox methods he picked up making El Mariachi had Desperado’s filming schedule take place just over a month. The film became very profitable as it grossed a total of $58 million globally with its $7 million budget. It established Rodriguez as the new pulp action director, while Banderas and Hayek’s careers took off like a rocket.
During his time on the film, Quentin Tarantino told Rodriguez that he should make the third movie in this series an epic like Sergio Leone’s The Good, The Bad and The Ugly in the Dollars trilogy. He also said he should title it Once Upon a Time in Mexico as a tribute to Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West.
And that’s exactly what Rodriguez did with 2003’s Once Upon a Time in Mexico. The third movie was more epic with a coup plot that exploded into all out war in the finale. This film would also focus less on Banderas’ character with more of an ensemble cast that includes a scene-stealing new wildcard – Agent Sands – played by Johnny Depp, who’s having the time of his life.
Once Upon a Time in Mexico closed out the trilogy and Rodriguez would only revisit the franchise one more time in an attempt to adapt the first film into a TV series, but that would only last for one season. Desperado is fun, unpretentious entertainment that doesn’t take itself seriously. It doesn’t have much in terms of a plot. It’s almost like a series of vignettes in between the action scenes, but the performances are entertaining and the pace of the film never lets you get bored. It almost had the title El Pistolero, which means “the gunman.” And that’s exactly what you’re in for, a good old fashion video game-like shoot em up.
