This is allegedly the sequel to "El Mariachi", but let's be honest, this is actually the same film made with more experience, a higher budget, better actors and better technology... and phenomenal music.
7/10
Desperado
1995
Action / Crime / Thriller / Western
Plot summary
Director Robert Rodriguez picks up where his successful independent debut El Mariachi left off with this slam-bang South of the Border action saga. Bucho (Joaquim DeAlmeida) is a wealthy but casually bloodthirsty drug kingpin who rules a seedy Mexican border town. Bucho and his men make the mistake of angering El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas),a former musician who now carries an arsenal in his guitar case. Bucho was responsible for the death of El Mariachi's girlfriend and put a bullet through his fretting hand, making him unable to play the guitar. Bent on revenge, the musician-turned-killing machine arrives in town to put Bucho out of business, though he finds few allies except for Carolina (Salma Hayek),who runs a bookstore that doesn't seem to attract many readers. Desperado features supporting performances from Cheech Marin as a cynical bartender, Steve Buscemi as the cantina patron who sets up the story, and Quentin Tarantino as a man with a really terrible joke to tell.
Uploaded by: OTTO
Director
Top cast
Quentin Tarantino as Pick-up Guy
Salma Hayek as Carolina
Antonio Banderas as El Mariachi
Steve Buscemi as Buscemi
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU 809.18 MB
1280*720
English 2.0
R
Movie Reviews
Reviewed by
Let's play
Reviewed by
Top-notch action with south of the border style
Solely responsible for the English-speaking market success of director Robert Rodriguez and Antonio Banderas, this outlandish, action-packed odyssey of adventure is a spicy thriller with plenty of passion and bullets as it charts the rise, fall and eventual return of a vengeful hit-man, played to the hilt by Banderas himself.
As the guitar-playing, softly-spoken, floppy-haired hero, Banderas is excellent in what is his best performance to date and he is truly unforgettable as El Mariachi. The film starts off with style featuring two shaggy-dog stories from some of modern cinema's quirkiest characters; the inimitable Steve Buscemi sets the scene whilst Quentin Tarantino shares a joke with Cheech Marin's bartender.
From then on the action is pretty much non-stop, with shoot outs in the bar, in the street and in various sleazy back alleyways. There's fun to be had from a super armoured car and from Danny Trejo's insane hit-man who's a sure-fire hit with a knife. An engaging thrill-ride that's packed with real thrills and sheened with style, Desperado is a top notch action flick.
Reviewed by
More money bigger actors flashier action
It's sort of a sequel to director Robert Rodriquez's low budget indie "El Mariachi". Steve Buscemi comes into the bar and starts telling the bartender (Cheech Marin) the story of El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas) who tore up a bar to get info on Bucho (Joaquim de Almeida). El Mariachi is seeking to avenge the death of his love. Buscemi was actually telling a fake story to help smoke out Bucho. El Mariachi goes shoot up the bar. On the street, he gets shot in the arm. Carolina (Salma Hayek) brings him back to her bookstore café. Navajas (Danny Trejo) is the knife throwing maniac.
Rodriquez got a few more bucks to use in this wild gunfight action. He got some bigger names non-amateur actors. It's definitely flashier and more professional looking. The story and dialog still needs work but that's not the point of this franchise. The original has the joy of low budget indie discovery. This one is generally better looking.