The Story:

An ex-Federale named Machete goes on a quest for vengeance after his wife and child are murdered by a Mexican drug lord and his band of thugs. 

Characters:

All of the characters in Machete fit some sort of genre stereotype. In traditional grindhouse fashion we have the tough likable hero on a quest for blood, fighting the man and sticking up for the little guy. What would an exploitation film be without a wronged heroine with an agenda? Michelle Rodriguez and Jessica Alba fill out these roles perfectly and are enjoyable companions to Machete. The usual suspects are here also, being as it is a Robert Rodriguez film Cheech Marin makes a brief, but hilarious appearance. A bunch of other high profile stars like Robert DeNiro and Steven Seagal play important characters also which I won’t spoil for you here.

Gore/Special Effects:

The gore and special effects were awesome.  Heads, arms and legs all get chopped off via Machete and other tools of destruction. Tons of blood and over-the-top kills make for a hell of a funny movie and a good time for the viewer. Machete delivered this in buckets!

Lasting Appeal:

While not as memorable as Rodriguez’ early works (From Dusk till Dawn immediately comes to mind) Machete was a great flick and delivered exactly what the trailer promised when first teased in Grindhouse. Over-the-top action, a crazy story, and heaps and heaps of death all wrapped up in “one mean motherfucking burrito.” This one is going to be bought the day of release and will probably get spun a few times a year, at least.

Final Head Count:

I really enjoyed Machete from beginning to end and didn’t find any of it to be slow or draggy.  It was a roller coaster ride, a thrill a minute and comes highly recommended by me.