Desperado

Desperado was preceded by the excellent reputation of Lemonade Joe, but frankly, it fell short of its predecessor's legacy. As it's less witty, and it compensates with more action. However, I'm not a fan of action movies, and the screenplay felt only average and, above all, uneven to me. Strong moments, especially in the second half, alternate with filler filled with gratuitous violence. To fully accept Desperado, I needed a bit more humor and wit. Overall impression: 55%. (20.12.2007)

I always enjoy these tequila westerns. I enjoy Quentin Tarantino's mini-performance and his glorious ending, as always the excellent Steve Buscemi, hot-tempered music and Mexican wild action. This is possibly Rodriguez’s best directing performance of his career, and El Mariachi, played by Antonio Banderas, has the grace of great heroes-avengers. Desperado is actually nothing more than a clichéd shooter with a traditional western plot. The joke is that the film is well aware of this and is a truly scathing parody at certain times when the characters speak. On the one hand, it’s quite funny, while on the other a brilliant and exciting action film about a guitarist who plays using two shotguns... I like it! (18.07.2004)

From the whole loose El Mariachi - Desperado - Once Upon a Time in Mexico trilogy, Desperado belongs to the best of what the nineties brought after Hollywood decided to take some of the shine from Spain and Mexico. There's not much to talk about here: the rough beauty of Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek, and the great soundtrack by Los Lobos and Robert Rodriguez in top form. (18.08.2023)

In his debut, El Mariachi, a labour of love shot in amateur conditions, Robert Rodriguez came up with a fascinating blend of Mexican narco-thrillers and American action movies. The indie film became a surprise hit in American cinemas and international video distribution, so the studio enthusiastically agreed to a more expensive and star-studded sequel. Desperado is a captivatingly stylish concentrate of Ibero-American genre movies, iconic elements of American westerns and formalistic inspiration from Hong Kong’s bloody ballets of the heroic bloodshed subgenre. At the same time, it’s deliberately designed to be a showcase for Latino acting talent – from European natives Antonio Banderas and Joaquim de Almeida to Hollywood legend Cheech Marin, the distinctive Danny Trejo and Salma Hayek in her first major role. American indie-film mascot Steve Buscemi and Rodriguez’s friend and fellow director Quentin Tarantino support them in minor roles. While critics complained about a talented indie filmmaker selling out to the glittering world of studio production, the film introduced movie fans around the world not only to the aforementioned actors, but also Rodriguez’s distinctive style, which blends exaggerated comic-book earnestness with grandiose coolness and an ethnically specific variation of trash genres. (14.03.2021)

Exactly what I feared happened. Desperado is your typical over-the-top, senseless action flick that feels like a bloodbath, with a few standout moments—like the one with Quentin Tarantino—but for about 70% of the film, I found myself bored, waiting to see what Desperado would do next. And that really frustrates me. I get it, Rodriguez and Tarantino love movies, and I don’t hold that against them. They can definitely craft scenes that are unforgettable—ones so tense they leave you holding your breath. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a case somewhere of someone suffocating from all the suspense Desperado creates. But those moments only take up about 20-25 minutes of the entire runtime. The rest just felt like filler. Still, I’m glad I finally watched it. At least now I can check off another film labeled as "cult classic." (05.11.2011)