ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO (2003) **1/2 By the time Robert Rodriguez' El Mariachi trilogy hurtles towards the finish line it looks more like James Bond than its humble rural origins. Not in a bad way, the fist-pumping Mexican nationalism is obviously heartfelt and Rodriguez is by nature a flashy director. If anything, Antonio Banderas illustrates, in nearly every frame, the poverty of appeal in the recent run of Bonds. And they're not even letting him be studly! I mean, imagine if they set him loose on... Instead he's limited, to the extent that the term can be applied to wild and wanton acting that screamingly admits no bounds, to gently romantic flashbacks with the now deceased Salma Hayek, and ultraviolent posturing with all kinds of weapons that...well Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger and those guys can't look half this tough; and Charlie Chaplin would have a battle on his hands for the physical humour award. Banderas' badass comedic stuff is absolutely brilliant, hysterical, and Goodfellas long since convinced us that it's ok to cackle with delight as hordes of people are designated for terrestrial reassignment. Johnny Depp's performance is also tremendous, but it's here that Rodriguez starts getting into...not trouble so much as certain incompatibilities begin coming into question. Depp's darkly comedic take on historically great tasting pork and what to do with those who cook it is without question a highlight of the film, but as the dust settles and he becomes an emblazoned metaphor for CIA involvement I found him disruptive, and not only in the obvious, intended, literal sense. Depp (the CIA) has endless resources, is congenitally dishonest, manipulative, and-for all that-morally superior to at least some of his enemies. Check. He's also impossible to defeat, and can get very wild and ugly when threatened. Ok. It's a stark metaphor, and doesn't call for anything that isn't presented, but you have to stop laughing at the high comedy to pay attention to the stuff.
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