The first thing I noticed was that the cheesy-on-purpose Grindhouse style that the trailer promised us was gone. Did I walk into the wrong movie here? Nope, the thing is shot like a straight, modern, action flick. Major loss of points. I noticed there was another director attached to this, so maybe some of the film got handed off or something. The next problem is that everything we didn't see in that first awesome trailer is badly written filler material. It was scenes designed to set up/explain what we DID already see, barely giving us more than we already got. Then, there's Danny Trejo. This guy is usually awesome, a terrifying menace in the background. That one crazy guy who's always there that you wouldn't mess with. His stint on Breaking Bad is something I won't forget for a while. I don't know if he's camera shy or what, but when they put him front and center, he looks bored, and does not carry the film. The supporting cast is more interesting than him. And why not? It's got Robert Dinero, Cheech Marin, Steven Segal, Jessica Alba, Jeff Fahey, and Lindsay Lohan. You'll notice I didn't mention Michelle Rodriguez. That's because she's annoying and I can barely stand to look at her.
The point is with so much going for it, this movie was a let down. I wish they had shot it in the style of the trailer and fleshed out some of the plot. It's more of a whimper than a bang. It's a kid with a cap gun where it should have been a crazy psycho with a machine gun mounted to his motorcycle. Which, by the way, happens in the movie. I'm still a Rodriguez fan, and I really admire his guerrilla style of film making. I hope his next effort is better, and think this is a good example of why you make the film first, and then do the trailer.
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