bix171
07-13-2004, 05:36 PM
Call it the post-“Spy Kids” effect, perhaps, but Robert Rodriguez’ return to the action genre he cut his eyeteeth on, while colorful and fun, doesn’t appear to carry as much interest for him as it once did. Though you can still imagine the smile on his face as he made the film, Rodriguez doesn’t seem to respect the genre anymore and the project, on the whole, really can’t be taken seriously. But that doesn’t mean it’s meant to be taken seriously and damned if it isn’t roaringly entertaining. Working, as has become his custom, as his own cinematographer, editor and film composer, Rodriguez may be consciously seeking to distance himself from his family movies (even though his guerilla mise en scene is evident in everything he does) by ramping up the nonchalant violence and craziness; he’s not as imaginative here as he was making the “Spy Kids” series, though he continues to be equally as inventive in his staging. Replacing the setting-sun cinematography that made the “Spy Kids” films so distinctive with a neon that plays up the film’s hipness (the soundtrack contributes staccato bursts of electric guitar to underscore the point), there seems more John Woo’s influence than Sergio Leone’s, with delightfully edited gunfights and explosions and off-kilter cinematography designed to carry you into the maelstrom. But there’s a sharply felt lack of depth that suggests it’s time for Rodriguez to put the genre behind him; he has a richness of talent to exploit in other directions. The extremely large cast of heavy-hitters appear to be in it for the fun of it though the primaries are well-cast: in addition to the returning Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek (from “Desperado”) are Johnny Depp, Willem Dafoe, Mickey Rourke, Ruben Blades and Eva Mendes. Of all of the actors, though, it’s Depp who truly gets into the wacked-out spirit of things—he’s tailor-made for Rodriguez’ tongue-in-cheek filmmaking.