The conclusion to one of my favorite film trilogies, the El Mariachi trilogy. Before I go on to the film, I want to mention just why I love the trilogy. Aside from them being very fun and awesome films, I like to think of them as kind of a folk lore type of thing. One story separated into 3 parts that changes as generations go on...

1. The Man (El Mariachi) plays out straightforward enough to the point that it's actually realistid. Like it could actually happen. It isn't as badass as the other two, but that's because it's supposed to be real. El Mariachi isn't a badass mofo, just an average man. This isn't quite as polished as the other two because the person telling the story is learning the details himself, if that makes sense.

2. The Myth (Deperado) As the story is told, the story is changed as well. Realism is traded for something more glamorized and polished. Something more exciting. It's still a little contained in reality, but not much. El Mariachi, the average Joe, is traded for a "prettier" and badass version of him and the story is changed to appeal to new audiences. You can actually find all three man, myth legend formulas in this film. Aside from El Mariachi telling Steve Buschemi to spread his legend, the Man in some ways is struggling to live a Myth and try to live up to his ongoing Legend.

The Legend (this film) This is when the story completely changes, which explains why some things are a little contrived or don't make sense. Substance is traded for style and realism is completely tossed out the window. Born from the myth and exagerated to much greater lengths for what the storyteller may think new audiences will find more entertaining.

Now what I think of that film...

I said all that above because on this watch, it helps me give some extra points to this film. I remember it being weaker than the previous films, but I don't remember it being such a weak film. What really would be a 3 star film is elevated thanks to the trilogy's structure. This film really suffers from having too many characters and too many subplots that either don't make sense or I didn't care about. Still, it's a fun film. Like I said, too many characters, but some characters are great especially Antonio Banderas in a return to form and a badass Johnny Depp. The action is the intense, exiting, and thrilling highlight of the film. The story...there is no real story but thanks to my theory above, I like to think the storyteller was amazed by the story so much he just started shooting shit, providing bullshit, and spilling out whatever came to mind. In other words, cocaine is a hell of a drug for a boy named Robert. He's a great boy, but he just got lost in his own story and brought out all these ideas he had and liked into the final product, which is why the product suffers.

Nonetheless, this is still a somewhat satisfying end to a trilogy I love. I don't love it nearly as much as the first two, but it's still entertaining enough to be an enjoyable follow up.