Once Upon a Time

in Mexico

            Cover: 

 

Plot Summary: Barillo (Willem Dafoe) is paying General Marquez (Gerardo Vigil) to attack the city and kill El Presidente (Pedro Armendáriz Jr.). CIA Agent Sheldon Jeffery Sands (Johnny Depp) hires El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas) to kill General Marquez, but not before he kills El Presidente. Sands also has a secret plan. While General Marquez is killing El Presidente and El Mariachi is killing General Marquez, Sands plans to sneak in and steal the blood money that Barillo was going to pay General Marquez. It is then Sand’s plan to split the money with his sweetheart, Mexican Federal Agent Ajedrez and run away with her.

 

Director: Robert Rodriguez

 

Writer: Robert Rodriguez

 

Cast:  Johnny Depp                       (Agent Sands)

            Antonio Banderas              (El Mariachi)

            Salma Hayek                        (Carolina)

            Mickey Rourke                    (Billy)

            Eva Mendes                         (Ajedrez)

            Danny Trejo                         (Cucuy)

            Enrique Iglesias                  (Lorenzo)

            Marco Leonardi                  (Fideo)

            Cheech Martin                     (Belini)

            Rubén Blades                      (Jorge FBI)

            Willem Dafoe                        (Barillo)

            Gerardo Vigil                        (Marquez)

            Pedro Armendáriz Jr.        (El Presidente)

            Julio Oscar Mechoso        (Advisor)

 

            Rating: R

 

Review: Really a great movie, but very confusing, so you have to pay attention! The best part of this movie is Johnny Depp as Agent Sands. Agents Sands is cool and calm all through the movie, even near the end. If you’re Agent Sands, staying cool through all that definitely takes talent. Sands is witty, devious, sarcastic, cool, and arrogant, but delightfully so. Antonio Banderas did tolerably well. He’s not my favorite actor but it was awesome when he said, “Then I have no choice…but to kill you all.” Willem Dafoe was really cool. He was totally evil but still cool. He’s definitely an awesome actor.

 

Trivia: This is Johnny Depp’s third movie with Willem Dafoe. Willem Dafoe was the hateful guard at the Maryland Training School for Boys in Cry-Baby and Sgt. Elias Grodin in Platoon.

Johnny Depp shot the footage for all his scenes in 9 days. They filmed additional footage (such as the priest á la Marlon Brando and Sands driving away in the car with the sunset behind him) because Johnny didn’t want to leave yet.