Machete!

Robert Rodriguez really needs the credit for being one of the premier action directors of modern film. Seriously, think about it... Desperado, Sin City, Dusk Till Dawn, Grindhouse, and now Machete... Even his more flawed films like Faculty and Once Upon a Time in Mexico definitely have great kinetic energy to them.

A lot of people like to point at the Spy Kids Trilogy, Sharkboy/Lavagirl, and Shorts as his weak points. He has a family and wants to make movies for his kids too... I've got no problem with that. The fact that his kids inspired him to make the Spy Kids and helped him write Sharkboy and Shorts is really cool in my book. I can't picture many other directors making big studio movies inspired by their kids stories... That said...

MACHETE!

Saw it at a 1:50 matinee, which to me is the perfect time to see a movie like this and wow, was this awesome... Tonewise, somewhere between Once Upon a Time in Mexico and Planet Terror... Exactly what I thought it'd be, so just some bullet points...

Danny Trejo finally gets his starring role and channels his inner Charles Bronson... Yep, he doesn't have a lot of range at all, but no one plays the quiet badass better...

Steven Seagal's hispanic accent was worth the $8.00 matinee price.

Pretty much every Rodriguez supporting favorite showing up... even the doctor and twin babysitters from Planet Terror... and Daryl Sabara, the boy from the Spy Kids movies... and James Parks as Sheriff McGraw (who was also in Kill Bill and Grindhouse as the same character)

Although Jessica Alba can't act at all... it seemed more appropriate here.

Why has it taken this long for Michelle Rodriguez to show up in a Robert Rodriguez film?

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know I loved Shea Whigham in Splinter... and he's in a smaller supporting role here too, and does pretty well...

The Hungarian bodyguard is played by Rodriguez's buddy, Nimrod Antal, who directed Predators.

Geez this was bloody, but not as bloody as Piranha 3-D

There's a lot of plot here, but the final fight sequence is worth the price of admission..

Eli Roth, get on that Thanksgiving movie next!!

Downside... there's a little too much plot and a few too many characters... but I have to give an overall rating - 7.5/10... the extra .5 for the last 10 seconds, which made me laugh out loud.