Rating: 7/10
Review date: October 2, 2003
The gun-slinging guitarist resumes his thirst for revenge after the events in El Mariachi (1992). This time he continues his search for Bucho, a local drug lord who is supposed to be Moco�s boss from the previous movie. With the help of a local bookstore owner, Carolina, El Mariachi embarks on an adventure of violence with the help of his trusted guitar case.
Hot on the heels of El Mariachi�s success in 1992, Robert Rodriguez directed this sequel with plenty of style. Using a limited and rather minimal amount of budget, Rodriguez managed to infuse plenty of no-holds-barred violence and campy humors that entertained me greatly.
The budget constraint is clearly obvious from the look of the movie but Rodriguez was able to turn that into his advantage by keeping the pace moving fast and a cool, unrealistic feel in the action scenes.
Antonio Banderas took over the role of the nameless Mariachi from Carlos Gallardo (who is reduced to the role of Campa here) in the first movie. He did it well with a strong performance although his character always survives shoot-outs with a lot of people.
Salma Hayek as Carolina looks as hot as ever in those scanty clothing that she wore throughout the flick. I am grateful for the steamy sex scene between her and Antonio Banderas which is nicely done.
There are great cameos by Quentin Tarantino as a sleazy drug dealer followed by Cheech Marin as the bartender with the toothpick. Steve Buscemi also appears in one his funniest roles as the Mariachi�s sidekick and Danny Trejo also joins in as a knife-wielding assassin.
This is one of Robert Rodriguez�s best movies so far which implemented his tradition of shooting the movie with a low budget. It has great stylish action, great performances from both leads as well plenty of excellent cameos.
As I said earlier, the action scenes feel rather unbelievable with bodies flying across the room when being shot but I digress. It is the unrealistic feel which makes the movie entertaining for me and you should too, as long as you don�t take it too seriously. Just sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.
Memorable quote: �Bless me, Father, for I have just killed quite a few men.�
-Antonio Banderas as El Mariachi-
(c) Martin Taidy 2003