MOVIE REVIEW - Machete Kills

LOL!  Some movies are simply not-reviewable.   And that is the new, second installment of he cult classic, Machete, Machete Kills.

This is closed circuit for only those who went to, or rented the original from a few years ago and made it a box office hit.   This is more, and much more of the same as the first.  The Machete series is a huge, serious, outlandish parody of many genres of movie making, poking as much fun of itself as at others.  It lampoons, superheros, action movies in general, James Bond, martial arts movies and many others.  All on a small movie making budget.

But this time they got a ton more stars to come along for the ride.  The first one was loaded with stars too, and this time, Charlie Sheen, Mel Gibson, Lady Gaga, Amber Heard, Jessical Alba, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Antonio Bandaras come along for the ride.  They join the original cast members of Danny Trejo as Machete and Michelle Rodriguez.  

Machete is a former Mexican Federale, now he he is some form of aging action hero star who can't be killed.   He is capable of doing most anything, and his character is a mix of James Bond, Rambo, and Jackie Chan.   He and his organization have been hired by the President of the USA (Sheen), to diffuse a nuclear attack from a Mexican War Lord who was given the nuke from a rogue defense contractor, Voz (Gibson.)  So Machete takes the case and heads to Mexico to quell the threat.  Along the way there are numerous fights and battles where he emerges unscathed and he makes his way back to America.

This is a silly, and sometimes fun action flick.   The way over the top, gratuitous violence is basically cartoonish, as are many of the ancillary action sequences.   Yes, there is plenty of decapitation, amputation, and disembowelment to go around.  And it's all portrayed in a silly, and sometimes humorous way.   Truly, this is an acquired taste and will not be appreciated by much of anyone for the exception of  guys, 17-27 years old.   It's a cult movie, so if you don't "get it"  you won't "get it.".  Many casual movie goers will wonder what the heck it the point?

This series, as silly as it is, does try to make some social commentary of our nation, and the world we live in. But that will be lost on many, who are only there to see the violence and the silliness.   This though did make me laugh a few times, as did the original but this will not be on any list as one of the years best.

Machete Kills.   Cult classic.  And there will be more.