Machete Kills

Robert Rodriguez has now stretched his fake Grindhouse preview about a 1970s-style Mexican vigilante-outlaw-superspy astronaut into two features and more than 200 minutes of film. If nothing else, give Rodriguez credit for squeezing blood from Danny Trejo's stone face. The first Machete was a too-literal attempt to culturally reappropriate revenge-flick tropes, and it could never settle on a flattering tone, while Machete Kills is a full-blown comic book throughout. Scattered among the mayhem are shape-shifter bounty hunters, explosive strap-ons, Cuba Gooding Jr., an inspired riff on Star Wars rip-offs, and a scene where Trejo disposes of a bad guy by pulling out his intestines and flinging them into a spinning helicopter rotor. Unfortunately, Machete Kills clocks in at an indulgent 107 minutes, and Rodriguez and his over-the-top band of players are nearly a half-hour short of ideas.