Once Upon a Time in Mexico
2003 · Directed by Robert Rodriguez
Original language: English
- action
- crime
- thriller
- western
The story
A corrupt CIA agent Sands hires hitman El Mariachi to assassinate a Mexican general hired by a drug kingpin attempting a coup d'état of the President of Mexico.
What it’s like
Saturated, sun-scorched Mexico rendered in hot oranges, dusty ochres and deep turquoise, with the cinematography leaning into a heightened comic-book sheen: quick snap zooms, stylised slow-motion, bursts of colour against flat desert white. Director Robert Rodriguez cuts fast and loud, layering mariachi guitar, rhythmic gunfire and a swaggering score that tips between spaghetti-western twang and pulpy rock. The mood is brash, playful and mythic, a stylised B-movie with a wink, where cantinas, rooftops and dusty plazas feel like stage sets. Pacing is relentless, with frequent shootouts and a tangle of double-crossing intrigue, though the people stay deliberately archetypal rather than deep: a weary gunslinger, a charming, unhinged spy and a grinning enabler. Violence is frequent and stylised, with many gunfights and bloody but cartoonish deaths, plus torture-tinged menace and some sexual content and strong language; it lands as bravado rather than grit. Best for viewers who want a loud, colourful action romp, a comfortable Friday-night watch for fans of Rodriguez's Mexican trilogy and genre pastiche.
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