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Danny Trejo, Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Steven Seagal, Michelle Rodriguez ... see more see more... , Lindsay Lohan , Jeff Fahey , Cheech Marin , Don Johnson , Shea Whigham , Tom Savini , Daryl Sabara , Gilbert Trejo , Billy Blair , Ara Celi , Feliz Sabates , Electra Avellan , Elise Avellan , Marci Madison , Vic Trevino , Mayra Leal , Alejandro Antonio , Juan Pareja , Alicia Rachel Marek , Jason Douglas , Mitchell Lance Adams , Brent Smiga , Chris Warner , Jim Henry , Tina Rodriguez , Roland Ruiz , Greg Ingram , Tito Larriva , Cheryl "Chin" Cunningham , Hugo Perez , Nina Leon , Doran Ingram , James Brownlee , Nimród Antal , Al "Train" Dias , Dimitrius Pulido , Scott Jefferies , Edgar Arreola , Tommy Nix

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 Grindhous... read more read more...e. 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

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64% liked it

101,688 ratings

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73% liked it

175 critics

R, 1 hr. 45 min.

Directed by: Robert Rodriguez, Ethan Maniquis

Release Date: September 3, 2010

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DVD Release Date: January 4, 2011

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Flixster Reviews (9,871)

  • jmanard52
    March 13, 2011
    jmanard52
    All i have to say is. "Machete dont text" so so much fun
  • SirPant
    January 26, 2012
    SirPant
    Much like many of the 70's Grindhouse/Exploitation movies, the film rarely lives up to the trailer. In that sense, it's a fitting tribute. It's not all bad though, you can take the film seriously when it doesn't take itself seriously - for the best part it's a fun and silly film.... read more The only problem I had was that it seemed rushed. The intro was done in the grindhouse fashion, grainy scratched film, aged orange tint and bad cuts - why this wasn't extended to the whole film is beyond me (or did Rodriguez only direct the first bit?). The cast is great and there are some excellent scenes but the classic scenes from the trailer seem to be an afterthought. Enjoyable but it did seem like a way to make a quick buck rather than be a heartfelt desire from Rodriguez - who is capable of much more. Mind you, after watching the deleted scenes, it could have been a lot worse!
  • FilmFanatik
    November 29, 2011
    FilmFanatik
    I was looking forward to Robert Rodriguez's big screen adaptation of his Grindhouse fake trailer classic Machete when it was first announced. I didn't care much for the idea of all of the big name actors and cameos, but I let that pass. Another Robert Rodriguez action movie would... read more be a lot of fun, right? Sad to say, it's not what I had hoped it would be. For starters, it's stuffed full of a convulted story that winds up being boring with the action taking a backseat, all in an effort just to incorporate footage from the trailer to make the trailer itself legit. Some might say that a poor story, dialogue and everything else is just what's necessary in order to recreate the Grindhouse feel of the movies it borrows its tone and style from, but I can't get behind that idea when most of the effects and action are done with modern techniques. There is so much CGI in this that it's unbelievable. I expected to see loads of fake blood, pyrotechnics and prosthetics, but instead I got really bad CGI shots of a machete going through Steven Seagal, faux gun fire in every direction, or even computer-generated blood squirting all over the place. That doesn't impress or delight me because I know it was done on a computer, so it has no value. So overall, I found the film to be quite boring and untrue to its own ideals. I've read that sequels are in the works and maybe they can do something a bit more creative the next time around, but I kind of doubt it. The bottom line here is that if you like movies about action with not much action in them or movies with bloodshed that isn't practical, you'll enjoy Machete. As for me, I'll continue to expect something with a little bit more put into it than that.
  • flixsterman
    November 1, 2011
    flixsterman
    De Niro's understated acting style merges with grindhouse like socks merge with sandals.
  • paulsandberg
    October 9, 2011
    paulsandberg
    Another nod to B movie, action type films, and yet Robert Rodriguez knows full well what he's making, so he doesn't take himself, his film, or the genre seriously - and that's what makes the film fun.

    Always a master of film technique, going back to the first El Mariachi which... read more was wonderfully filmed at a cost of something like 10 grand, Rodriguez knows how to manipulate a camera and his audience, and while that's readily apparent here, it's his humor (being co-writer) that had me doing some serious belly laughs.

    It's interesting, after just reviewing Hopkins' writer/director mess (Slipstream), here we have Rodriguez running the show - being writer/director and musician (his band Chignon provides all the music for the film). The major difference is that Hopkins took himself seriously, while Rodriguez looks right into the camera and says "hey, I know this is a joke, you know this is a joke, and so why not have some fun".

    From the opening credits where we see that the film "introduces" Don Johnson, to the opening B film with the film name in huge block letters with a stentorian voice bellowing "Machete!!!!!!!" we know this is going to be a fun ride.

    And fun it is - who cares if Steven Segal's Hispanic accent keeps slipping (the same can be said for Johnson's Texas Twang) - that's part of the fun. It's also fun to watch Daniel Trejo just looking so bad ass, using any sharp object to vanquish his foes (in one scene he is surrounded by baddies, cuts into one, pulls out his intestines (an earlier scene had reminded us that intestines are 60 feet long) and uses said intestines as a rope - jumping out a window and swinging to the safety of a lower floor - shades of Spiderman!

    Michelle Rodriguez is prominently featured as the leader of the underground railroad that helps get Hispanics across the border. She works from a taco truck and is rumored to be the legendary rebel leader "She" a tongue in cheek nod to Che Rivera. When she shows up at the climactic battle scene jumping out of the back of an ambulance, clad in a leather bikini with gun belt, holding a huge automatic weapon I couldn't help but laugh - what a babe and what a scene (especially with her eye patch since she had earlier been shot in the eye).

    Coming into the big battle, the underground rallies at a chop shop, so Machete leads the way, bursting out of the shop in a 64 Impala convertible, following by all kinds of vintage cars all tricked out with big guns attached - and of course being Hispanic, they all have hydraulics, leading to a hilarious scene as they approach the Vigilante compound and start bouncing.

    Finally, after vanquishing the vigilantes (nice alliteration, yes?), Machete climbs atop a car and brandishes a huge Machete above his head - with all the Hispanics around him suddenly possessed with machetes that they all raise in tribute - hilarious!

    As the final credits role we are told that Machete will return in.... Machete Kills and ..... Machete Kills Again. Gotta love it.
  • DreamExtractor
    August 24, 2011
    DreamExtractor
    Machete was a great movie, it was completely what we wanted, blood, gore, and nudity. 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),... read more 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. The plot of the film is great, I was never bored and it was so ridiculous and fun that it worked for me. The acting is one of a kind in this, Danny Treyjo is cool in his first star role, Jessica Alba is sexy and awesome, and the rest of them just have very colorful characters and they all were very memorable. The action is the films main greatness, never before have I seen such amazing action scenes because Rodriques is not scared to go all out and make this as Rated R as possible. I loved Machete, and even though it was boring at many times and some parts were very stupid, its safe to say this is Robert Rodriguez's best film (next to Sin City).
  • FrizzDrop
    August 22, 2011
    FrizzDrop
    Being completely objective, and not praising the badassery of Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, and the direction of Robert Rodriguez, it's still fairly easy to be ecstatic over this film. Besides the fact that, yes, this film knows what it is and therefore plays up some seriously... read more over the top theatrics and action packed sequences to get a response, it really is a greatly executed script. None of this is brilliant by any means, but the way every detail pops on the screen was obviously handled with the greatest of care. I am of course emphasizing certain scenes, including Cheech Marin as a priest, fighting off a legion of baddies, anything to do with Lindsay Lohan, and the special effects in Machete's killing sprees including torrents of animatronic blood spurts and full body red makeup that looks fake, but in the best of ways. Because Machete was originally a trailer for the Rodriguez film Grindhouse, we're already in suspense, and know the kind of film we're about to watch. As this folk hero to illegal aliens kills off the men responsible for his family's deaths, he is also trying to clear his name, but you know when all is said and done he won't even care. He's a character that's always fighting, enemy or not. Sprinkled in are cameos by previously mentioned Cheech Marin, Lindsay Lohan, and a special treat, Robert De Niro. Each knows their duty to be flippant and unrealistic, so their presence never overwhelms. The action is perfectly choreographed, everything is zany to begin with so you never question what you're seeing, and Trejo's usual grit comes in handy along the way. Not for the faint at heart, or bored by films without precision.
  • fb100000040220993
    August 15, 2011
    fb100000040220993
    I don't know if I've ever seen a Robert Rodriguez movie that I haven't liked. I know that anytime his name is on the marque, I'll be consistently entertained. So I'm not the least bit surprised that I love, "Machete". It has all the demented humor, gratuitous violence, enterta... read moreining characters, and great dialogue that Rodriguez films are known for. This is a great movie. Highest possible recommendation.
  • DragonEyeMorrison
    August 8, 2011
    DragonEyeMorrison
    As long as you ignore the one dimensional political agenda of this one you will enjoy it. Trejo and Seagal deliver enough goods to ignore the bad acting from the leading ladies. Johnson was good too.
  • fb535316333
    May 24, 2011
    fb535316333
    I was expecting much worse considering the film's genre but this movie ended up being kind of awesome on a few levels.

    It often trips over it's own plot, not sure why they strived for the level of complexity that they did. Maybe the times call for it? Who knows? All we really n... read moreeeded was the B-movie-exploitation fun which was all there.

    Anyway, a relatively satisfying ride in the world of tongue-in-cheek entertainment.

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Critic Reviews

Richard Roeper
September 17, 2010
Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com

"Warped, violent, dark, funny, sexy. Great stuff." Full Review

David Edelstein
September 7, 2010
David Edelstein, New York Magazine

The movie is ham-handed, repetitive, and rhythm-less -- a mess that's uglier than its hero and nowhere near as likable. Full Review

James Berardinelli
September 6, 2010
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

I have nothing against films that take political stances, but an exploitation flick? It's off-putting. I'd prefer to sit back and bask in the carnage and R-rated silliness. Full Review

Lisa Kennedy
September 3, 2010
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post

Rodriguez plans "Machete" sequels. Here's hoping the next is sharper and cuts closer to the bone. Full Review

Tom Long
September 3, 2010
Tom Long, Detroit News

It's basically a one-joke exercise heading toward the inevitable big battle between vigilantes and Mexicans. There's lots of gore, flesh and fun along the way, but it gets repetitious. Full Review

Stephen Cole
September 3, 2010
Stephen Cole, Globe and Mail

Sorry, mis amigos, wrong decades. The modern B-movie would seem to be devoted to self-conscious fun. More laughs, but fewer real chills. Full Review

Stephen Holden
September 3, 2010
Stephen Holden, New York Times

The pace is swift, the tone playful, the screenplay peppered with one-liners. Full Review

Michael O'Sullivan
September 3, 2010
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post

It's a movie that just wants to have fun. To a large degree, it succeeds. Full Review

Kyle Smith
September 3, 2010
Kyle Smith, New York Post

[It] may be a weird combo of speechy and pulpy but it's also what another all-star bloodbath, The Expendables, should have been -- self-aware, flashy and fun. Full Review

Eric D. Snider
September 2, 2010
Eric D. Snider, Film.com

Brimming with infectious energy -- a well-made movie in the style of poorly made movies. Full Review

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    • Padre: I took a vow of peace and now you want me to kill all these men?
    • Machete: Yes Padre.
    • Padre: [with a 'meh' look on his face] I'll see what I can do.
    • Sartana: There are lots of laws, but if they don't offer us justice, they aren't laws, they're just lines drawn in the sand by men who stand in your back for power.
    • Sartana: We didn't cross the border, the border crossed us.
    • Sartana: I thought Machete don't text?
    • Machete: Machete improvises.
    • Padre: God has mercy. I don't.
    • Machete: Machete don't text.
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