Machete

Theatrical Release Date: 2010 09 03 (USA)

UPC: 024543718413

Studio: 20th Century Fox

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Graphic Violence, Nudity, Profanity, Sexual Situations]

Summary: Robert Rodriguez brings a new breed of antihero to the big screen in this hyper-violent adaptation of the "fake" trailer originally featured in the 2007 double-feature exploitation throwback Grindhouse. Machete (Danny Trejo) is a former Mexican Federale who plays by his own rules, and doesn't answer to anybody. In the wake of a harrowing encounter with feared drug lord Torrez (Steven Seagal), Machete finds himself in Texas, where the shadowy Booth (Jeff Fahey) offers him the opportunity to make some quick cash by assassinating the unscrupulous Senator McLaughlin (Robert De Niro). When the job goes awry and Machete realizes he's been set up, he turns to fierce taco queen Luz (Michelle Rodriguez), heavily armed holy man Padre (Cheech Marin), and trigger-happy socialite April (Lindsay Lohan) to show Booth that he just messed with the wrong Mexican. But before they can get to Booth, Machete's gang will have to contend with blade-wielding ICE agent Sartana (Jessica Alba), who never met an adversary she couldn't flay. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Category: Action

Awards: Film Presented – Venice International Film Festival

Features: cc

Machete

Format: DVD

Release Date: 01/04/2011

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 105 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,Spanish,French

Subtitles: English,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Machete
1. Scene 1 [6:06]
2. Scene 2 [1:35]
3. Scene 3 [4:55]
4. Scene 4 [1:27]
5. Scene 5 [2:09]
6. Scene 6 [4:49]
7. Scene 7 [1:59]
8. Scene 8 [4:15]
9. Scene 9 [:45]
12. Scene 12 [1:08]
10. Scene 10 [1:00]
11. Scene 11 [4:54]
13. Scene 13 [2:42]
14. Scene 14 [1:53]
15. Scene 15 [2:20]
16. Scene 16 [2:03]
17. Scene 17 [3:29]
18. Scene 18 [1:37]
19. Scene 19 [1:34]
20. Scene 20 [2:19]
21. Scene 21 [3:04]
22. Scene 22 [1:14]
23. Scene 23 [2:07]
24. Scene 24 [3:07]
25. Scene 25 [:59]
26. Scene 26 [4:08]
28. Scene 28 [2:12]
27. Scene 27 [1:55]

Jason Buchanan

While it certainly isn't for a lack of effort, Machete co-directors Robert Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis just can't maintain the grimy, hack-and-slash momentum that makes the opening scene of their bloody exploitation throwback a mini-masterpiece of cinematic brutality. At 105 minutes, Machete drags on just a bit too long, yet the spirit of exploitation is alive and well throughout, and even as multiplex malaise begins to set in, it's impossible to deny that this reckless little neo-grindhouse romp is incredibly entertaining in fits. It also gets big points for featuring the increasingly cuddly Robert De Niro in one of his edgiest roles of the last two decades. High art be damned, Machete is a real treat for trash movie lovers, and a perfect addition to any marquee that also features The Expendables and Piranha 3D. When we first see Machete (Danny Trejo), the Mexican Federale and his partner are speeding down a dusty highway en route to save a young girl who's been kidnapped by notorious Mexican drug lord Torrez (Steven Seagal). By the time Machete realizes it's a trap, it's already too late, and after forcing the Federale to watch as his wife is executed, Torrez torches the house and leaves him for dead. Some time later, Machete has crossed the border into Texas and begun working as a day laborer when he befriends Luz (Michelle Rodriguez), the owner of a popular taco stand who has connections to a mysterious underground organization called The Network, and who has recently become the target of an investigation by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officer Sartana (Jessica Alba). The heat begins to turn up when the mysterious Booth (Jeff Fahey) offers Machete a briefcase full of cash to assassinate Senator McLaughlin (De Niro), a racist White House hopeful who likes to hunt illegals on the border with Lt. Stillman (Don Johnson) and his overzealous gang of trigger-happy minutemen. But just as Machete prepares to pull the trigger, he takes a bullet from Booth's henchman Sniper (Shea Whigham), and realizes he's been double-crossed. Now, it's time for some payback. You've got to hand it to Rodriguez for making good on his promise to deliver a Machete feature after whetting our appetites with the gloriously badass "fake" trailer that opened Grindhouse back in 2007. In their sincere effort to give moviegoers the most bang for their buck, Rodriguez and Maniquis brew up the kind of deliriously violent action sequences that helped establish the former as one of the most promising and innovative young filmmakers of his generation. But while Rodriguez's eye for outrageous action is sharp as ever, as a screenwriter he tends to be overindulgent, and by the time the movie hits the 90-minute mark, Machete has already overstayed his welcome. It's not so much that the film becomes a victim of its own excess, but that the shortcomings of Rodriguez and cousin/co-screenwriter ?lvaro Rodriguez as writers ultimately bog it down. Once the story begins to unfold, the Rodriguezes seem to have trouble finding the fat to trim, leaving the viewers to pick the gristle out of their teeth while they await the next big action scene. That misstep, coupled with a frequent tendency to drag out scenes for just a few beats too long, slows down the action in Machete just enough prevent the film from establishing a satisfying rhythm. Thank heavens Machete is so unapologetically irresponsible, crass, offensive, and hilarious; otherwise we might really start to notice the boredom as it begins to set in. Along with the aforementioned Expendables, Machete features one of the strongest B-movie casts of the year. Action fans who lamented the fact that Steven Seagal was notably absent from Sylvester Stallone's all-star action flick will relish the opportunity to see the ponytailed martial artist perish in what may be the silliest death scene since Paul Reubens in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the movie, not the show!), Jeff Fahey exudes weaselly menace with his slicked-back businessman mullet, Johnson dons a pair of chintzy fake sideburns that Herschell Gordon Lewis would have sent back to the makeup artist, and Cheech Marin is a blast in his brief cameo as a shotgun-toting, reefer-smoking priest. The haggard Lindsay Lohan is already too chewed up to play a convincing drugged-out rich girl, sounding for all the world like her dialogue has been overdubbed by Tom Waits. And despite the fact that De Niro pulls out all the stops to make Senator McLaughlin the biggest scumbag south of the Mason-Dixon Line, he's still outshined by the swaggering, impossibly tough Trejo, who plays the titular living legend to grizzled perfection. Trejo might just have one of the best faces in contemporary film, and he's impossible to look away from as he wins a street fight without setting down his burrito, and decapitates three of Torrez's henchmen with one swift swing of the blade. At the end of Machete, the producers promise that the blade-wielding ex-Federale will return in "Machete Kills" and "Machete Kills Again." If those films ever make it to the multiplex, we may be forced to accept the fact that the grindhouse has finally gone mainstream. Much like the exploitation masters of yesteryear, Rodriguez and company take a hot-button issue (in this case immigration) and use it as the foundation for an anything-goes film that favors grisly thrills over serious reflection. For that reason, it's easy to forgive Machete its shortcomings, and chuckle quietly at the audacity of the images that playfully rub our noses in our own shortcomings as a society. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Ashok Amritraj  Executive Producer 
Robert Rodriguez  Director 
Robert Rodriguez  Producer 
Robert Rodriguez  Screenwriter 
Elizabeth Avellan  Producer 
Ethan Maniquis  Director 
Rick Schwartz  Producer 
Myles Nestel  Executive Producer 
Alan Bernon  Executive Producer 
Edward Borgerding  Executive Producer 
Álvaro Rodriguez  Screenwriter 
Chingon  Composer (Music Score) 
Danny Trejo  Actor 
Robert De Niro  Actor 
Jessica Alba  Actor 
Steven Seagal  Actor 
Michelle Rodriguez  Actor 
Jeff Fahey  Actor 
Cheech Marin  Actor 
Don Johnson  Actor 
Shea Whigham  Actor 
Lindsay Lohan  Actor 
Tom Savini  Actor 
Daryl Sabara  Actor 
Gilbert Trejo  Actor 
Billy Blair  Actor 
Ara Celi  Actor 
Feliz Sabates  Actor 
Electra Avellan  Actor 
Elise Avellan  Actor 
Marci Madison  Actor 
Vic Trevino  Actor 
Mayra Leal  Actor 
Alejandro Antonio  Actor 
Juan Pareja  Actor 
Alicia Marek  Actor 
Jason Douglas  Actor 
Mitchell Lance Adams  Actor 
Brent Smiga  Actor 
Chris Warner  Actor 
Jim Henry  Actor 
Tina Rodriguez  Actor 
Roland Ruiz  Actor 
Greg Ingram  Actor 
Tito Larriva  Actor 
Cheryl "Chin" Cunningham  Actor 
Hugo Perez  Actor 
Nina Leon  Actor 
Doran Ingram  Actor 
James Brownlee  Actor 
Nimród Antal  Actor 
Al "Train" Dias  Actor 
Dimitrius Pulido  Actor 
Scott Jefferies  Actor 
Edgar Arreola  Actor 
Tommy Nix  Actor 

Country: USA