Rice University’s Student Newspaper — Since 1916

Friday, November 29, 2024 — Houston, TX

Arpan Bhowmik


NEWS 9/2/10 7:00pm

Machete gets the goods

Co-directors Robert Rodriguez (Predators) and Ethan Maniquis have succeeded at the difficult task of following up the comically gore-soaked, nudity-filled and politically incorrect Machete trailer - which originally debuted on the silver screen as a fake trailer sandwiched between the 2007 Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino double-feature, Grindhouse, and gained instant cult status. With their feature-length expansion of the trailer, they have delivered more entertainment than Machete fans could have ever hoped for.Cinematically speaking, Machete looks and feels like an average B-movie. Shaky camera work, grainy photography and, at times, very disappointing editing leave you staring at Steven Seagal's (A Dangerous Man) shirt in the middle of the climatic fight sequence, yet the film entertains like a blockbuster. The action is outrageously bloody from the very beginning, yet despite the unsteady camera work, the blood and gore is shown in just the right amounts to induce shrieks and laughter in the audience. That is the beauty of Machete; everything is so disgustingly wrong and offensive that the effect is hilarious.