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Once Upon a Time in Mexico
Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures


6.0

based on 34 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 38 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

FILM:

MPAA RATING: R for strong violence, and for language

Starring Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp, Rubén Blades, Eva Mendes, Willem Dafoe, Mickey Rourke, and Enrique Iglesias

The saga of the mythic guitar-slinging hero, El Mariachi (Banderas), continues in Robert Rodriguez's bold, non-stop action epic.

GENRE(S):	Action \| Adventure \| Crime \| Western
WRITTEN BY:	Robert Rodriguez
DIRECTED BY:	Robert Rodriguez
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: January 20, 2004 Video: January 20, 2004 Theatrical: September 12, 2003
RUNNING TIME:	101 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	Mexico / USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub

Excellent.

Austin Chronicle Marrit Ingman

The movie gets goofy from time to time -- as when payola arrives in a vintage "Clash of the Titans lunchbox -- but the filmmakers and cast have the style and the swagger to back it up.

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

Make no mistake, this movie is a mess. But, wow, what a mess! It's an exploding piñata, full of low comedy and high drama, deliriously colorful fight scenes and vehicle chases.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

Proves to be a whiz-bang kick in the pants.

Time Richard Schickel

It's an exercise in style by Robert Rodriguez and not to be taken any more (or less) seriously than his giddy "Spy Kids" movies.

The Hollywood Reporter Jean Oppenheimer

Affectionately conceived, imaginatively staged and highly entertaining.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

A bloody fairy tale with no moral and a lot of juice.

USA Today Claudia Puig

Rodriguez is such a visual stylist, and the violence is so cartoonish, that the flurry of whizzing bullets and growing pile of bodies is not as offensive as it might be.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

I understood the general outlines of the story, I liked the bold strokes he uses to create the characters, and I was amused by the camera work, which includes a lot of shots that are about themselves.

New York Post Megan Lehmann

It's the addition of Depp's corrupt CIA agent, Sands, that really makes this violent, over-the-top action film, with its maze-like plot, sing.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

In its wildly overwrought, burrito-Western way, is about as close to a home movie as you're likely to see in a megaplex.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

You don't want to miss Depp in this movie -- he knocks it out of the park.

Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson

God bless Johnny Depp. For the second time this year, the man has almost single-handedly redeemed an action movie that would otherwise be indistinguishable from the pack.

LA Weekly Ernest Hardy

The movie is stolen by the gorgeous, droll and hilarious Depp. The movie crackles when he's onscreen and only fitfully sparks when he's not.

Variety David Rooney

Evokes the mythic feel of Sergio Leone Westerns. Despite a convoluted plot that begs for cleaner lines, the wild shoot-outs, cartoonish violence and charismatic cast should lure action fans to theaters.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

You ride along with a movie like this with a big, dumb grin on your face and no guilt. Not one of this summer's megabucks movies felt this frisky or fun.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

It's a grisly, chuckling cartoon made on shots of tequila, Red Bull, and Sergio Leone.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

If not exactly epic, the movie is certainly the biggest and most complex of Rodriguez's Mariachi trilogy, which began in "El Mariachi" and continued in "Desperado."

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Starts having the same effect as one too many tequilas: the Hong Kong-style stunts, the goofy wisecracks, the foxy presence of Eva Mendes -- all of it becomes blurry and numbing.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

An epic unhinged, and while its best sections suggest a Loony Tune done by Sam Peckinpah and Emilio Fernandez, "Mexico" needs to be even crazier than it is.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Banderas inhabits the role of the mariachi with a feral grace undimished by the seven-year gap between films.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

Paying homage to Sergio Leone, "Mexico" aims too high and, in the process, becomes more like every generic, overplotted drug-cartel-and-revenge flick out there.

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

However many millions of dollars Rodriguez set aside for blanks and exploding squibs was a waste. Depp's salary, on the other hand, was money well spent.

Film Threat Kevin Carr

If only there had been more Salma Hayek.

Premiere Addison MacDonald

The entire film is a thrown-together collection of gunfights and in-jokes. The film is more concerned with expanding this universe of seedy tequila bars and dusty city streets than it is in telling a narrative story.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Ray Conlogue

A clear case of huevos con hubris.

Los Angeles Times Manohla Dargis

Depp's performance reminds us that, yeah, it's only a movie -- just not a good one.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps

An overstuffed would-be epic.

Village Voice Jessica Winter

Having already looted the Peckinpah and spaghetti-western archives, the director now quotes his own quotations, in service of not a sequel but a vociferous reiteration.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

Needs a story.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

The result is a dull and campy 97-minute bloodbath offering little distinction between good guys and bad.

Slate David Edelstein

The whole movie is like that: showy stunts, explosions, over-the-top acting, fiesta colors, lurid angles, and a sense of nothing--nada--at stake.

The New York Times Dana Stevens

The only thing missing is a coherent story -- or even, for that matter, an interesting idea for one.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

The film's deliberately overblown cartoonishness and its gleefully pandering adolescent cruelty never blend into the enjoyable style of, say, a good spaghetti western (Rodriguez's acknowledged model), or even a bad Quentin Tarantino movie.

The average user rating for this movie is 6.0 (out of 10) based on 38 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Blue M. gave it a1:
The most irritating movie I have ever had the misfortune to watch. Would have been better if there was a story instead of blindly jumping from scene to scene. All the BS gunfight scenes make me angry just thinking about them.

Pat C. gave it a4:
Offers a fatalistic view of the inevitability of political intrigue. And that's the good part. While aspiring to present something memorable, this movie doesn't overcome what even the most casual observer would find to be a bloodbath.

[Anonymous] gave it an8:
It's all about fun with guns, though some elements seems a little bit out of place. Depp helps lift this movie above the cliches.

Mason J. gave it a 10:
If you want a thoughtful and deep movie watch City of God. I bought this movie because sometimes you just need a mindless movie -- Once upon a time in mexico is fun, mindless, and contains an amazing performance by Depp. If nothing else, Depp's tee-shirts make this movie worthy of a 10.

Kevin F. gave it a 1:
Assumes hipness without even a successful implementation. Very dull.

Vincent Y. gave it a 9:
This was a bit rough round the edges but that could be Rodriguez thinking outside the box. Banderas is as good as ever as his moody Mariachi legend and Depp really shines. His oddball charm and style sparkles in every scene. The plot however, constantly threatens to trip the movie up but thats not what the movies made for. The stylish action and dark humour wel makes this a film to watch.

Melissa M. gave it a 0:
You have got to be kidding me! This is one of the worst movies I've seen in years! Poor storyline, crappy, unbelievable effects (I mean, who silences a revolver?!), flame thrower in a guitar case?! Anyone who liked this movie is just as stupid as the movie, including the critics who must have been drunk, or paid off, to rate this movie as high as they did.

Once Upon a Time in Mexico Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures

Once Upon a Time in Mexico
Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures