He continued the series in 1995 with Desperado and rounded out the trilogy with 2003's Once Upon a Time in Mexico. As Charles Ramirez Berg points out, the El Mariachi series is part of the "warrior adventure genre" of films, but Rodriguez's films also play against the genre in important ways.
This is partially a result of Rodriguez thinking that the film would go directly to the Spanish-language video market, but he adhered to the same pattern in Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Rodriguez underscores this fealty to Mexico in the DVD commentary when he points out an intentional continuity error.
And Once Upon A Time In Mexico shows he knows how to put the big bucks he's given to make movies to good use, especially when it comes to on-screen action.
Once Upon A Time In Mexico is full of action, but ultimately is something of a triumph of style over substance.
Mexico is hot hot hot right now, with the film Once Upon A Time In Mexico, starring Johnny Depp, Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek, on release, and hosts of stars, including Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom, holidaying in the country over the summer.
Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek in Once Upon A Time In Mexico
Musical comedy "The Fighting Temptations" showed strength in the East and South, family pic "Secondhand Lions" scored between the coasts and previous weekend topper "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" outpaced both newcomers in the Pacific region.
Once Upon a Time in Mexico 11,007,367 3,289 3,347 5.
Once Upon A Time In Mexico is clearly a tribute to the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone, yet still retains Rodriguez's trademark tongue-in-cheek humour and love of overblown action set-pieces.
For sheer visceral thrills, Once Upon A Time In Mexico is hard to fault,but if you're hoping something a little more meaty and substantial, you'll go very hungry.