Two films for which I had similarly low expectations. One passed with flying colors and the other failed miserably.
Machete How in the world does Robert Rodriguez still get work in Hollywood? The fights were horribly choreographed using lots of close ups and quick takes and CGI blood spatter instead of any sort of rational stunt choreography. The story made absolutely no sense at all and all the fighting and shootouts were just awful (Cheech had a decent cameo though). I understand that some films like to add political agenda into their storyline but this film was little more than a poorly filmed pro immigration commercial that hits you over the head repeatedly with its message for 90+ minutes. For a movie that shouldn't have been trying to take itself too seriously, this film takes itself waaaaaay too seriously. Wicked fail.
Piranha (2010) It opens with a respectful nod to Jaws and proceeds to deliver everything one would expect from a film called Piranha 3D. IOW it's chock-full-o' drugs, boobs and over the top gore with Christopher Lloyd & Ving Rhames doing what they do best thrown in for good measure (only thing missing was Lloyd saying "Great Scott!!!"). It's not good cinema, but I don't think it ever intended to be. It remained self aware throughout, didn't try to overreach its boundaries and never took itself too seriously. Win!
Not saying Machete was a great movie, but the way in which it didn't take itself seriously was by how seriously it took itself, if that makes sense. I think there's a mostly unexplored genre here that could make for some funny, over the top movies. Sort of like the Evil Dead stuff.
I was hoping/expecting something like that but the final result is that Evil Dead is offended by the comparison.I laughed at a couple sequences, the body guard quitting comes to mind. But the suckitude far outweighed any redeeming qualities.
It's a shame too because I have always liked Danny Trejo.
Dude is a bad ###, and an inspiration for rehabilitation, IRL. I am shocked that they couldn't manage an even remotely entertaining final battle between him and Seagal.
I don't mind the message but this movie was incoherent psychobabble IMO.