DESPERADO

DESPERADO ($30) is the kind of movie that celebrates the art of movie making, and is the kind of movie that makes movie viewing fun. DESPERADO could have turned out to be a routine action outing, but director Robert Rodriguez has turned this film into a stylish extravaganza. Rodriguez artfully composes each shot, and uses cinematic technique to keep the film visually arresting. His efforts make it impossible for the viewer to turn away. Antonio Banderas stars in this sequel to Rodriguez’s $7,000.00 wonder EL MARIACHI. Banderas portrays the film’s hero, a shadowy figure known as El Mariachi. El Mariachi is a former guitar player who carries a guitar case with an arsenal hidden inside. With guns blazing, El Mariachi takes revenge on the criminals who killed his woman and shot a hole through his playing hand. The intoxicatingly beautiful Salma Hayek portrays the new woman in El Mariachi’s life. She runs afoul of the very same criminals that El Mariachi is pursuing, and he takes her under his protective wing. The cast of DESPERADO also features Joaquim De Almeida, Steve Buscemi, Cheech Marin and Quentin Tarantino.