Trusts Critic He Knows Not to Trust

Went to see Once Upon a Time in Mexico after the generous four stars and write-up that your "critic" Marrit Ingman blathered all over this – thing. Wow, it is rare that I'm moved by a film to ask for my money back, but this is one of them. Actually it is less a film than a kind of a video docudrama about a film, the kind you get as an extra when you buy a DVD. Pesky details like lighting, editing, continuity, script, plot, even storyline can be glossed over or completely ignored. This has the feel and look of an on-the-spot creation by someone desperate for creativity. Kind of a shoot-as-you-go exercise in video riffing. The ultracheesy fake explosions, silencers on revolvers (doesn't work), the completely unbelievable and irritating lack of marksmanship by the bad guys even at point-blank range, etc., pale in comparison to the "story" or what passes for it. The first 10 minutes were fun and full of promise, but it soon deteriorated into an incomprehensible jumble of "characters" and "plot" "twists." The editing and continuity were bewildering, to be kind. It is great to shoot on location in a cool place, but this is little more than a low-budget video jam with some very cool stars (that I'll bet are dismally disappointed with this product). To give this overly contrasty, jumbled piece of eye fluff four stars is utter fraud and does a great disservice to real four-star films. It reeks of local politics, but then, your critic wouldn't know a good film if she sat through one.