Poster Artwork
Three years after losing everything he loved at the hands of the ruthless druglord Torrez, Mexican federale Machete now lives quietly in the United States as an illegal day-laborer. That calm is about to be disrupted though when a mysterious businessman hires Machete to do the unthinkable, kill Senator John McLaughlin and effectively put an end to his anti-illegal alien crusade.
Machete agrees to do it but a double-cross cuts the job short leaving both he and McLaughlin wounded. Now a wanted man and the prime suspect in the attempted assassination, Machete must exonerate himself by locating the sinister businessman, find out who we works for and bring the evidence to I.C.E. agent Sartana before the bad guys and the law get to him first.
With dozens of sharp objects, the backing of an extensive network of armed revolutionaries and an unwavering determination to kick the white man’s ass at his disposal, Machete will sex, text and wreck anybody who stands in his way.
When I first saw the faux Machete trailer back in ’07 I was blown away like most cult cinema geeks were but, let’s be honest, we all knew it wasn’t going to happen. Despite Rodriguez and Trejo’s insistence that it would happen, I highly doubted it would ever materialize. I mean no disrespect to those involved but Danny Trejo has never proven himself to be anything other than “Henchman #2″ or “Vato Loco #4,” leading man material he just did not seem to be. Even if they could somehow get the production off the ground, I wasn’t convinced it would ever see a theatrical release.
Machete was bonkers from beginning to end; it was sexy, gory and outrageous! Not only did Rodriguez craft a truly entertaining little Mexsploitation film but he had “something to say” as well by effectively portraying the ugly anti-immigrant sentiments, as he sees them, currently being encouraged by politicians in places like Texas and Arizona. I’ll be damned if Senator John McLaughlin wasn’t a shot at Senator John McCain but I could be wrong again. This isn’t just exploitation, in my opinion it has a powerful message and that’s not something you’re going to hear everyday in regards to a film in which a naked girl extracts a cellphone from her vagina!
The acting was all well above average, Chingon’s score was ultra funky and the ironic role played by Lohan kicked this whole thing up a notch. Did it get better? The feminine play on Che, Frigga’s one-eye, a luchadore hitman, the wink to Garko’s Sartana and even the avenging nun of Ferrara’s Ms. 45, oh yeah, all fantastico! Machete is a love letter to exploitation and trash fans and it makes no apologies for its offensive absurdity, nor should you. I really enjoyed this flick and I’ll definitely be adding it to my personal collection.
