Machete (2010/Fox
Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: A- Extras: B- Film: B-
I had
high hopes for Machete as I was
expecting the all out insanity that was teased in the original (at the time)
fake Planet Terror/Death Proof
trailers. Robert Rodriguez’s venture
back into the Grindhouse genre left me with mixed feelings. The film retains its somewhat B-Movie feel,
but seemingly struggles between trying to have a sensible storyline and
concurrently being outright ridiculous.
The plot
behind Machete has Danny Trejo
starring as Machete, an ex-Federale whose family was murdered by an insane drug
lord (Steven Segal) and is later hired to assassinate a murderous, bigot Texas
Senator (played by Robert De Niro). The
senator is running on the platform of “Mexican Infestation” and how it is
ruining America;
being so invested in his platform the senator is out there killing Mexicans at
the border himself. The senator’s
advisor Booth (played by Jeff Fahey) hired Machete to assassinate the senator,
but it was a double cross to pin the senator’s near death on a Mexican; in turn
boosting his rating and votes. The movie
sets off in an odd series of loosely connected events with the likes of Jessica
Alba (as an Immigration Officer), Lindsay Lohan (as a cracked out youngster),
Cheech Marin (as Machete’s gun slinging brother/priest) and many more showing
up to pull the story along.
The
problem with Machete is that the
film is major stretch. The cast is there
with the likes of Trejo, Marin, and Lohan being wonderful. The money, action, and violence are all
there, but somehow the film falls short of what it could/should be. Rodriguez seemed to have trouble bridging the
gap between what he promised in his fake, teaser trailer and what appeared on
film. The violent, sexual, and
outrageous moments are extraordinary (mostly trailer stuff), but the in between
is weak and drags. I think the film was
fun overall, but with so many stars and complete freedom to be ridiculous
Rodriguez could have given audiences more.
The technical
features on this Blu-ray are a mishmash of what’s what with the picture being
highly stylized and the sound being stunningly good. The picture is presented in a 1080p 1.85 X 1 AVC-encoded
image that bounces between good and distracting as Rodriguez used a variety of
techniques to give the film that Grindhouse look. The beginning of the film is the worst as a
ton of hair, grit, grime, dust, digital lines and more were artificially placed
on the film in post-production to give it that Grindhouse/B-movie effect, but
it is down right distracting. As the
intro comes to a close and after the opening credits roll the movie snaps back
to “normal,” but continues to have its gritty moments. The detail is wonderful and not hampered by
the grime. The colors are vibrant, yet
at the same time over saturation runs rampant to the point of distracting as
well. I understand the emphasis on the
Texas/Mexican backdrop, but Rodriguez may have overdone it this time. The sound is extraordinary in its 5.1 DTS HD
Master Audio as it stresses the barrage of action that fills the film. The bass is solid and booming, the
directionality is spot on, and dialogue is crisp, clean and prioritized. There are moments I had to turn down the
volume as the speakers were suddenly and needlessly booming, make this track
below perfect, but good nevertheless.
The
extras are less than what we usually get from Robert Rodriguez, so I expect a
double dip on this one. Outside of an
included digital copy, the weak extras are as follows:
Deleted
Scenes
They do not add nor detract from the
film
Trailers
Audience
Reaction Track
A worthless “noisy” extra that merely adds screams and
cheers from an audience; which in the end seems like a sad excuse for an extra
and an even sadder excuse for not putting a commentary track.
Machete is a popcorn film that is worth a
watch (especially with a crowd of friends), but beyond that I can’t say it is
worth owning.
- Michael P. Dougherty II
