Desperado (1995)

By Christian Eltell

Written and Published on August 25, 2020

Critic Rating: 3.5/4 Stars

25th Anniversary Review

Desperado, Robert Rodriguez’s hit sequel to his 1992 directorial debut, El Mariachi, is a hilarious and action-packed thrill ride filled with character actors we have grown to love and cherish over the years. These Mariachi films also drew audiences to the director’s appealing style and energy.

It’s easy to tell that Rodriguez was heavily inspired by Sergio Leone’s classic Westerns, especially A Fistful of Dollars from The Man With No Name trilogy, in which a powerful masculine hero takes on numerous villains in a small town that’s trapped in the depths of corruption, greed, and control.

The first film, El Mariachi, was a smaller and quieter film about a guitar player who’s looking for work in a small town in Mexico. The problem is that he’s mistaken for a criminal who carries a guitar case full of guns. El Mariachi then has to hide from men who are trying to kill him. He falls in love with Domino, a beautiful bartender who’s sadly killed by crime lord Mauricio. The white-suited criminal shoots Mariachi’s hand, but is then gunned down by El as vengeance for Domino. El Mariachi then continues his lonely journey, with a guitar case filled with weapons, to take down criminals and drug lords like Mauricio.

That’s where Desperado kicks in. El Mariachi is mad and out for more vengeance. He unloads on every bad guy in this film, from two pistols that pop out from his sleeves, to a double-barreled shotgun, as well as grenades. In the film’s brilliant opening, the hilarious Steve Buscemi tells bartender Cheech Marin that El is “the biggest Mexican I have ever seen.” The way Buscemi describes El’s mysterious appearance and his ability to blow away bad guys in a bar, as well as Cheech and his men’s funny and unsettling reactions to Buscemi’s story, efficiently set the tone for the film’s action.

In every film he’s starred in, whether he’s playing a hero or a villain, Antonio Banderas is always undeniably cool and charismatic. His role as El Mariachi in Desperado is no exception. While he plays a man of action, he also displays vulnerability and guilt. His dreams of becoming a guitar player and Mariachi are gone, and is saddened that he couldn’t save Domino, the woman he loved. In the beginning, there is a clever sequence in which El remembers finding Domino dead and Mauricio shoots El in the left hand. The setup is almost exactly the same as at the end of the first film, providing a reminder of the pain that El is going through inside, especially when he has nightmares and dreams about that unfortunate day.

Carlos Gallardo, who played El Mariachi in the first film, gave a cool, subtle, and sensitive performance. It would have been interesting if he continued to play El in Desperado and the next sequel. Perhaps it’s because Banderas is a bigger star. But despite that, Antonio proves that he is just as good in the role, and does justice to the character by giving El Mariachi that boost of energy, strength, and sentimentality. Carlos does have a nice cameo here as one of El’s friends, as well as cool guitar cases that serve as automatic weapons.

As for the villain, Joaquim de Almeida’s Bucho (similar to Mauricio from the first film) is one cold, menacing, controlling, and very pissed-off crime lord, especially when his men are incapable of following simple orders. Bucho has some funny outbursts, such as when he frustratingly asks for the number to the phone in his new car, and none of his men have it, or when he complains to his right-hand man (Carlos Gomez) to take the new car he bought rather than the truck.

Joaquim proved he can play a smooth, snake-charming, double-crossing villain in Clear And Present Danger (Harrison Ford’s second Jack Ryan film). Here, he’s front and center, and he chews the screen. When it is revealed that Bucho and El Mariachi are brothers, both men feel sad and heartbroken because they have been after each other’s heads throughout the film without knowing one another’s true identity. The final showdown was originally supposed to be longer, but was cut down for an R rating due to the heavy violence, but El’s face/off with Bucho was still well shot in dramatic fashion.

Salma Hayek’s role as the wonderfully gorgeous Carolina is sweet and tough, with a sense of humor, and her chemistry with Banderas’s Mariachi is perfect. Their playful and serious arguments, as well as their intimate moments and getting chased by Bucho’s men, are fun to watch.

Steve Buscemi as El’s friend, Cheech Marin as the bartender working under Bucho, and actor/musician Tito Larriva provide comic relief, including a cameo from Rodriguez’s friend, Quentin Tarantino, who is given some “yellow beer.”

In one of his early film roles, Danny Trejo portrays the extremely dangerous knife-throwing Navajas. As always, Trejo is cool, deadly, and buffed-up with big tattoos. This likely inspired his Machete character in later Rodriguez films. I do wish Trejo’s Navajas appeared a little more in this film, such as a fight scene between him and Banderas’s El would have been badass.

While Desperado is more action than story, many might ask why this sequel/reboot was necessary if it’s similar to the first film. El Mariachi did end with the hero shooting down the villain responsible for killing the woman he loved. However, Desperado is able to continue El’s journey in hunting down similar villains and drug lords (even his own brother), as well as pursue a new relationship with another beautiful and intriguing woman, and save her life from all the chaos she’s trapped in. He also bonds with a young boy who enjoys playing the guitar, which is unfortunately used for his father’s drug deals to earn some cash. El wants to do good for himself and for others, as well as earn a second chance to find redemption in his life. He doesn’t want to live a life of crime and violence forever. Also, the appealing characters, Rodriguez’s swift direction with quick cuts, an exciting Spanish/rock soundtrack that matches the film’s atmosphere (especially Back To The House That Love Built and Strange Face Of Love from Tito and Tarantula, Banderas’s Cancion del mariachi, and Hayek’s Quedate aqui), and the explosive shoot ‘em up action sequences make Desperado one of the director’s finest films, and made stars out of its entertaining cast members. To Rodriguez and his cast and crew, if we didn’t thank you yet, we will right now!