Once Upon a Time In Mexico: Difference between revisions

[[File:once_upon_a_time_in_mexico_verdvd.jpg|frame]]

 

 

 

After he is kidnapped by Sands' henchmen and given several bodyguards, El Mariachi [[An Offer You Can't Refuse|reluctantly participates]] in Sands' plot to assassinate [[Big Bad|drug lord Armando Barillo]] and [[The Dragon|General Marquez]] once they had overthrown the Mexican government. Sands also acquires the services of [[Femme Fatale|AFN Agent Ajedrez]] (played by Eva Mendes) and [[Retired Badass|retired FBI Agent Jorge Ramirez]].

 

 

{{tropelist}}

* [[The Alcoholic]]: Fideo. "I don't think. I drink."

* [[Ass Shove]]: A preoccupation of Sheldon Sands.

** [[Badass Grandma]]: At one point, we see an old lady with a pair of bandoliers [[Dual-Wielding]] revolvers and taking down three or four of Marquez's troops in quick succession.

* [[Bad Boss]]: It is implied that Barillo sent his piano teacher to be mutilated -- for being "condescending".

'''Barillo:''' I wasn't. }}

* [[Bar Brawl]]: In the flashback in the opening scene.

* [[Briefcase Full of Money]]: [[Subverted]]: Through most of the movie, there is never enough money to changing hands to fill a briefcase, so Sands puts it in lunch boxes. Which the money obviously ''still'' doesn't fill. {{spoiler|By the end of the movie, the Mariachis end up making off with a sum of money so large, it fills both of their guitar cases and ''still'' leaves enough for them to end up stuffing their shirts with it.}}

* [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]]: Sands is a visibly eccentric character and uses often a pair of fake arms, which eventually [[Chekhov's Gun|turn out to be useful]]. {{spoiler|He uses them to shoot an informant under the table and one last time to kill Ajedrez.}}

** And of course, the first thing he says on his cell is "Can you hear me now? Fucking bells." (as church bells are ringing in the background)

** If one assumes that he is the [[Hero of Another Story]] (as he is presented in the movie), then this could very well be the source of the narration if he ''were'' the star. As it is, he ends up spending much of the movie talking to himself and [[Lampshade Hanging|commenting on]] whatever foolish thing he is about to do, as well as justifying the fact that he is explaining (to nobody in particular [[Fourth Wall|other than the audience watching the movie]]) the significance of various minor details.

* [[Cartwright Curse]]: By now El Mariachi has had TWO love interests killed.

* [[The Chessmaster]]: Sands, initially.

* [[Church Shootout]]: The first big shootout that takes place in the present day.

** Marin's character has a reason: he thinks asking for a moderate payoff for his information would keep Sands from killing him. {{spoiler|It doesn't.}}

* [[Covers Always Lie]] - See the above picture with [[Salma Hayek]] in it? {{spoiler|She's not really a major character because she's DEAD in this film and only shows up in flashbacks.}} Johnny Depp's Character is also of secondary importance to Antonio Banderas's, yet Depp is in the foreground.

* [[Eye Scream]]: {{spoiler|Poor Sands.}} If you want to know, {{spoiler|he got his ''eyes drilled out'', and near the end we get to see his empty sockets. Fun. You get to see the approaching drill from Sands' point of view.}}

* [[Fake Nationality]]: [[Antonio Banderas]] is Spanish, not Mexican. And Willem Dafoe is...really, definitely not Mexican, but this was lampshaded in the commentary slightly when Robert Rodriguez explains that he was purposefully playing it over-the-top.

* [[Failed a Spot Check]]: {{spoiler|Ajedrez fails to notice that Sands evidently has three arms. And to think ''he'' was the blind one.}}

* [[Fridge Logic]]: We know from Sands' conversations on the phones that his contact was unwilling or unable to get the weapons that his people would need to stop Marquez's coup. So where ''do'' the townspeople get all that heavy weaponry from? Either they were able to get that kind of firepower on their own, or else [[Fridge Brilliance|Sands' contact came through for him after all.]]

* [[Fun T-Shirt]]: Sands wears a great variety of obnoxious tourist-y t-shirts throughout the film--[[Johnny Depp]] thought the character would be the type to wear them and asked his sister to look around her hometown in Florida for the worst ones.

** He wears a [[Hidden in Plain Sight|"CIA" shirt]] at the bullfight. It actually reads "[[All Men Are Perverts|Cleavage Inspection Agency]]".

* [[Gambit Pileup]]

* [[Heel Face Turn]]: Sands becomes significantly nicer after {{spoiler|having his eyes gouged out}}.

* [[Hero of Another Story]]: Former FBI Agent Ramirez.

** [[Hey, It's That Voice!]]: El Mariachi is also [[Shrek|Puss In Boots]].

* [[Hurricane of Puns]]: Pretty much any time anyone talks to {{spoiler|Agent Sands}} after he loses both of his eyes.

'''*[[Bait and Switch Gunshot|BANG]]*''' ''[[Bond One-Liner|...No.]]'' }}

* [[Improbable Aiming Skills]]: {{spoiler|Sands}} manages to kill a total of three mooks {{spoiler|while blind. He first fires a number of wildly inaccurate shots, then when the mooks laugh at him, he zeroes in on the sound.}}

* [[Improbable Weapon User]]: El Mariachi, Lorenzo and Fideo.

* [[The Ketchup Test]]

* [[Mad Doctor]]: Dr. Guevera

* [[Meaningful Name]]: Ajedrez, which means "chess," foreshadowing her {{spoiler|strategic manipulation of Sands. May also be a pseudonym to cover up the fact that she's Barillo's daughter.}}

* [[Redemption Equals Death]]: {{spoiler|Billy Chambers}}

* [[Retired Badass]]: Ramirez. Also El Mariachi, technically.

* [[Revenge]]: Key motive for El Mariachi and Ramirez. Also, arguably, {{spoiler|for Sands}} towards the end.

* [[Reverse Mole]]: Ramirez bribes Billy Chambers into a [[Heel Face Turn]] by promising that he would be allowed to return to the United States. {{spoiler|He lied.}} To be fair, {{spoiler|he wasn't lying out of villainy. He just didn't have that kind of power anymore. Had he lived, it's possible Sands could've worked out a deal for him.}}

* [[The Revolution Will Not Be Vilified]]: Both averted and played straight. The conspirators attempting the coup d'etat are clearly evil, but [[Badass Bystander|the Mexican people rise]] against them to defend their government.

* [[Shout-Out]]: {{spoiler|Sands, blinded, blood running down his face, wielding a machine pistol}} - a very obvious reference to Kiriyama's final scene in [[Battle Royale]].

* [[Smug Snake]]: Sands

* [[Tears of Blood]]: see [[Eye Scream]]

** Actually, he kills {{spoiler|when he finds a chef who cooks it TOO well}}. Sands is obsessed with the idea of "maintaining the balance" in Mexico, which involves screwing up the nation's politics as well as its restaurant industry...

* [[Un Installment]]: Inspired by the realization that many viewers of ''[[Desperado]]'' did not originally know that the movie was a sequel to ''[[El Mariachi]]'', and thus were confused by the numerous unexplained but obviously important flashbacks, this movie includes ''many'' references to important events that took place in the third movie {{spoiler|such as the murder of El's wife and daughter.}}

* [[You Look Familiar]]: [[Danny Trejo]] played a Colombian hitman {{spoiler|that was accidentally killed by Bucho's men}} in ''[[Desperado]]''.

** [[Cheech Marin]] also played a character that was killed at the beginning of the second movie and comes back here. It's confusing since he knows about the Mariachi's legends and sports an eye patch (the other character was shot in the head) but it is indeed a different character. [[Word of God]] states that he was originally supposed to be the same guy since Robert forgot he was killed and had to be reminded prior to filming.

[[Category:Useful Notes/Mexico]]

[[Category:Films of the 2000s]]