Machete Kills
Short description
Machete Kills continues the story of Danny Trejo's former federal agent, who is pulled back into service when the President of the United States recruits him for a mission no ordinary person could survive. His target is a crazed Mexican cartel leader, Mendez, who threatens to launch a missile at the United States. Machete's pursuit takes him across Mexico and eventually brings him into conflict with Luther Voz, an eccentric billionaire arms dealer whose ambitions extend far beyond one missile. The film is the second entry in the Machete series, following the character's introduction in 2010.
Robert Rodriguez directed from a screenplay by Kyle Ward, and the film is the eighteenth of the twenty-four features he has directed in chronological order, arriving between Spy Kids: All the Time in the World and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. Alongside Trejo, the cast includes Mel Gibson as Voz, Demián Bichir as Mendez, Amber Heard, Michelle Rodriguez and Sofía Vergara, with fifty-one credited cast members overall. Rodriguez also produced with Rick Schwartz and Sergey Bespalov.
Made for twenty million dollars, the film returned roughly eighteen million worldwide, falling short of its production cost. On IMDb it holds a rating of 5.6 from about eighty-five thousand votes, and on TMDB it also stands at 5.6, from around two thousand votes. A critics' score of 4.6 from 124 reviews places it below both audience measures.
What's left behind the scenes
- Michelle Williams was offered the role of Miss San Antonio, but she declined. The role went to Amber Heard.
- All scenes with Mel Gibson were filmed in one week.
- The film was shot in 29 days.
- This is the eleventh film starring Danny Trejo directed by Robert Rodriguez.
- This film marks Mel Gibson's first time playing a villain.
- This is the first film in Charlie Sheen's career where he is credited under his birth name, Carlos Estévez.
- A poster for John McLaughlin's (Robert De Niro) campaign can be seen in the sheriff's office.
- Charlie Sheen plays the president in this film. His father, Martin Sheen, played several U.S. presidents throughout his acting career, most notably in the series "The West Wing" (1999-2006).
- The gun in the shape of a penis used by Sofia Vergara is practically the same gun that Tom Savini used in "From Dusk Till Dawn" (1995) and Antonio Banderas used in "Desperado" (1995). Both of these films were directed by Robert Rodriguez.
- During the helicopter scene, when Zaror (Marco Zaror)'s character receives a phone call, the ringtone is "Cancion Del Mariachi." This is a reference to the film "Desperado" (1995), directed by Robert Rodriguez, in which Antonio Banderas stars and sings the song.
- During the battle between Machete and Mel Gibson in the finale, it can be noticed that on the walls of the latter hang various swords, among other firearms. One of them strongly resembles William Wallace's sword from the film "Braveheart" (1995).
- The film's main antagonist, Mel Gibson, can foresee the future and read minds. This is a nod to the film "What Women Want" (2000), where Mel Gibson's character could read women's thoughts after an accident.
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