Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)
★★½ — Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)
Once Upon a Time in Mexico arrived in 2003 as the long-gestating conclusion to Robert Rodriguez's Mariachi trilogy, which had begun a full decade earlier with the famously micro-budgeted El Mariachi (shot for around $7,000) and continued with the slicker Desperado in 1995. Rodriguez shot the film almost entirely on digital video using Sony HD cameras, making it one of the earliest major studio releases to do so, and he served as his own director of photography, editor, and composer (a habit he'd established across the trilogy). Columbia and Dimension co-financed the $29 million production, a modest enough figure given the marquee cast, which saw Johnny Depp essentially reprise and amplify the charismatic energy he'd just brought to Pirates of the Caribbean earlier that same summer.
Once Upon a Time in Mexico is the flashiest and most star-studded of Robert Rodriguez’s Mexico trilogy, but sadly, it’s also the weakest. It’s got style for days (sunglasses, guitar cases, slow-mo walks, and a soundtrack that feels like a solo festival) but underneath all the swagger, the story is basically empty. The plot is a mess. Something about a rogue CIA agent, a coup, and revenge, but it’s so thin and scattered, it’s easy to stop caring halfway through. Compared to the raw grit of El Mariachi or the cool intensity of Desperado, this one feels more like a music video stretched into a two-hour runtime. It’s undeniably hammy and heavily Americanised, more Hollywood shoot-’em-up than Mexican folk tale. You’ve got Johnny Depp just 'there' as a flamboyant CIA agent, Willem Dafoe going full cartoon villain, and Salma Hayek back as the fiery Carolina, but even with this stacked cast, the characters don’t land with much weight. Everyone’s playing a type, not a person. And while the action is slick and over-the-top (in a fun way at times), it lacks emotional stakes. It’s all cool moves and cool lines, but zero soul. It’s not a bad time, there are moments of fun, some great visuals, and that guitar theme still hits hard. But as a film, it’s style over substance all the way down. Watchable if you’re lounging with zero expectations, but the worst of the trilogy by a long shot. More popcorn than power.
Rating: ★★½ | Year: 2003 | Watched: 2025-09-07
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Related on Movies With Macca
More from Robert Rodriguez: Planet Terror (2007) · From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) · Machete (2010) · El Mariachi (1992)
More with Antonio Banderas: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988) · Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) · Desperado (1995)
More from Mexico: Nightmare City (1980) · Violet Perfume: Nobody Hears You (2001) · Simon of the Desert (1965) · Babel (2006)
More from the 2000s: Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005) · Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) · Daredevil (2003) · Apocalypto (2006)
More action: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · The General (1926) · Hand of Death (1976) · Daredevil (2003)
More crime: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Angst (1983) · Stolen Face (1952) · Cairo Station (1958)
