Desperado

The first half is great, with one high-paced action set-piece after another. And Tarantino’s cameo with his joke is very good. But from the middle it starts to creak, the pace stutters and the only satisfying thing is the glimpses of Salma Hayek's cleavage. (28/09/2003)

I always enjoy these tequila westerns. I enjoy Quentin Tarantino's mini-performance and his glorious ending, as always the excellent Steve Buscemi, hot-tempered music and Mexican wild action. This is possibly Rodriguez’s best directing performance of his career, and El Mariachi, played by Antonio Banderas, has the grace of great heroes-avengers. Desperado is actually nothing more than a clichéd shooter with a traditional western plot. The joke is that the film is well aware of this and is a truly scathing parody at certain times when the characters speak. On the one hand, it’s quite funny, while on the other a brilliant and exciting action film about a guitarist who plays using two shotguns... I like it! (18/07/2004)

In his debut, El Mariachi, a labour of love shot in amateur conditions, Robert Rodriguez came up with a fascinating blend of Mexican narco-thrillers and American action movies. The indie film became a surprise hit in American cinemas and international video distribution, so the studio enthusiastically agreed to a more expensive and star-studded sequel. Desperado is a captivatingly stylish concentrate of Ibero-American genre movies, iconic elements of American westerns and formalistic inspiration from Hong Kong’s bloody ballets of the heroic bloodshed subgenre. At the same time, it’s deliberately designed to be a showcase for Latino acting talent – from European natives Antonio Banderas and Joaquim de Almeida to Hollywood legend Cheech Marin, the distinctive Danny Trejo and Salma Hayek in her first major role. American indie-film mascot Steve Buscemi and Rodriguez’s friend and fellow director Quentin Tarantino support them in minor roles. While critics complained about a talented indie filmmaker selling out to the glittering world of studio production, the film introduced movie fans around the world not only to the aforementioned actors, but also Rodriguez’s distinctive style, which blends exaggerated comic-book earnestness with grandiose coolness and an ethnically specific variation of trash genres. (14/03/2021)

Desperado preceded the great reputation of the overseas Limonade Joe, but honestly, it fell short of living up to its legacy. The less funny the desperado is, the more action-packed it becomes. However, I am not a fan of action movies, and moreover, I found the script to be mediocre and, above all, uneven. Strong moments are interspersed with filler violence. To fully accept Desperado, it needed a bit more wit and humor. Overall impression: 55%. (20/12/2007)

From the whole loose El Mariachi - Desperado - Once Upon a Time in Mexico trilogy, Desperado belongs to the best of what the nineties brought after Hollywood decided to take some of the shine from Spain and Mexico. There's not much to talk about here: the rough beauty of Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek, and the great soundtrack by Los Lobos and Robert Rodriguez in top form. (18/08/2023)

An absolute classic, something that cannot be said about many films made in the 1990s, but Rodriguez did a fantastic job with this over-the-top piece. Tarantino's legendary humor, Salma Hayek, and Antonio Banderas with a guitar are just fragments of an unforgettable, often grotesque Mexican mosaic full of humor, exaggeration, and bloody action. It's simple, visually unappealing and cheap, yet attractive (Salma+Banderas), with fiery pace. A cool one-off. (17/08/2012)

Robert Rodriquez is a big question mark to me. I have no doubt that he can make properly entertaining genre films that fully display his enormous passion for cinema and his talent, but then he comes with stuff like From Dusk Till Dawn, Machete or, heaven forbid, Planet Terror, and my sympathies for him slowly turn 180 degrees. Fortunately, Desperado belongs to the first group, boasting a well-written script, brilliant editing of the action scenes and above all, from top to bottom, an impeccably chosen cast, which also helps a lot. Not only the charismatic Banderas and the gorgeous Hayek, but especially the narratively underrated Buscemi, Trejo or the great Quentin Tarantino himself (his scene is one of the best ever) are the driving force that gives the story unprecedented brilliance and pace. And the playful Rodriquez just underlines everything with his amazingly specific signature, which is not and probably never will be completely free of flaws, but without it this time it just wouldn't be the same... 80% (12/10/2012)

This is just a movie that I really like. Although I did have a little problem with how the best part happens in just an hour and a quarter, but there's nothing you can do about it. The fact that Rodriguez couldn't keep up the pace until the end is perhaps the only problem I have with this. Amazing Banderas, beautiful Salma, and excellent scenes that I simply can't forget. Tarantino and Buscemi are killing it. (13/04/2015)