So I saw Machete today and I was very very disappointed. I was going in expecting a typical Robert Rodriguez grind-house style movie with a pretty good story and extremely exaggerated violence.
Instead what I got was 2 hours of pro illegal immigration propaganda with gratuitous violence and sex as a plot mover. The fact of the matter is that this topic is a very hot button issue in the nation right now and I felt it had no place in a film of this style. And while the movie had its moments, if Rodriguez's goal was to humor the issue, he should have jabbed at both sides it rather than choose a side. But he specifically labeled one side good and one side evil without really arguing either side other than using stereotypical responses that merely arouse unbridled emotion and downsized logic.
Another thing is that I feel that if you're going to make a movie that is based around a political ideology, that it should be done with a bit more grace in order to make it appeal to viewers from both sides. That is to say to make it more objective to the point where an audience can interpret it as to how it pertains to them.
An example would be V for Vendetta. Now anyone who knows anything about this movie and specifically the graphic novel that inspired it will know that it was written with the intention of being a critique of the Reagan administration. And yet even far right ultra-conservatives could appreciate the film/graphic novel on its own, without knowing of its original inspirations.
Songs are another example. The song War Pigs by Black Sabbath was a song protesting the Vietnam War, and yet even those who supported the war could listen to it and appreciate it as a milestone in rock n' roll history.
The point is that direct political references in art to me are unprofessional, unintelligent, and untalented. Referencing an ideology in a way that allows a person to think is far more appropriate and (even if I do not agree with it) far more noteworthy when analyzing an artist.
Now, I am anti-censorship all the way and I support the first amendment. So my argument against the manner Rodriguez chose to unfold his film is merely based around personal opinion, as I hold the same right as he does. I also reserve the right to refuse to watch or listen to art form that cannot express its ideology or philosophy in a more intelligent way than bashing and ad hominem arguments, which so often dominate political debate among entertainers. Machete fits into this category and as a typical Robert Rodriguez fan I must say that I was unpleasantly surprised.