“I had such an amazing day in NYC yesterday. For his bday, I took the BFFF to see Alan Cumming’s one man version of Macbeth. Holy \m/ balls was it amazing. There just are no words. I also caught Jim Parsons in Harvey, which was hilarious and adorable. There was just time enough left in my weekend to squish in one QT/RR movie: Desperado.
Oh my God, I forgot how \m/ awesome Desperado is. For serious, why do I never remember this when I’m thinking of favorite action movies? That barroom brawl, for example, is everything you would want in an action movie. Its fast, explosive, over the top, funny, and bad ass. You never really think of Antonio Banderas as an action star, but my God, the boy certainly has that in him. I’ve seen this multiple times, but today I still dropped everything to watch, absolutely enthralled. Robert Rodriguez just may be the best action movie director out there, or at least he’s incredibly high on the list. Michael Bay, eat your heart out. Its just so inventive. The guns in the guitar case and the sleeves. The girl getting caught in the middle. The mix of ruthlessness and heart in our hero.
This movie was Rodriguez’s real intro to Hollywood. Yes, he impressed with El Mariachi, but this was when he was first able to bring his magic to the masses. It also marks the first collaboration between Rodriguez and Tarantino, as Tarantino had a small role. It was also because of Steve Buscemi’s work with QT on Reservoir Dogs that he was at Sundance when El Mariachi premiered. He asked Rodriguez for a part in his next movie, and therefore his role in Desperado was written just for him.
There is some confusion from those not in the know if this is a remake or a sequel to El Mariachi. It is most definitely a sequel. It flashes back to some scenes from El, although reshot with Antonio Banderas instead of Carlos Gallardo, but including Peter Marquardt and Consuelo Gomez. Gallardo actually got to be one of El’s backup guys. But its incredibly well done as far as continuity for those who didnt know the movie. Only a handful of people were able to see El Mariachi, and I’m sure lots of people to this day probably think that Desperado is where it all started.
Although one of the most memorable and iconic scenes in the movie is the opening theme. I will never hear that song and not think of my friend Carlos, one of my bestest buddies in the whole world. He used to be in a mariachi band, and he said El Cancion Del Mariachi was their most requested song. But, it’s not actually a mariachi song, so they never played it. So to this day he holds a grudge against the song and all gringos who think they’re being cultured when they’d ask for it. Silly gringos.”