Desperado
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: August 25, 1995 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
55
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
11
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Take nothing seriously - not the action, not the gore, not the plot, not the theme. Instead, view Desperado as it's meant to be seen - a comedy - and you're in for an unalloyed treat; heck, you're in for one of the funniest flicks of the year. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
A bust-a-gut film experience that reveals Rodriguez as both a stylist versed in the mechanics of popular storytelling and a maverick whose ingenuity guides him along a singular path. Read full review
80
Washington PostDesson Thomson
The commercial transition has been remarkably successful. This is primarily thanks to Rodriguez, who not only retains the original movie's kinetic flair, but takes it further. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
The camera loves Banderas -- a velvet stud -- as much as it did the young Clint Eastwood. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter Travers
The stunts dazzle until you miss the low-key charm and cost-conscious inventiveness of the original. Desperado is best when Rodriguez lets his playful side cut through the blare of a born filmmaker indulging his first chance at high-end Hollywood fireworks. Read full review
63
San Francisco ExaminerBarbara Shulgasser
During this movie, every few moments the theater fills with the appreciative guffaws of 18-year-old young men. How old are you? Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
Unquestionably formulaic but mercifully free of the flat dialogue and arch one-liners that undermine so many action films. And while it lacks "El Mariachi's" naive charm, it's far funnier. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
What's mainly missing is the sort of conviction and passion that gave El mariachi its charge; one feels at almost every moment that Rodriguez is fulfilling a contract rather than saying something he has to say. There's a lot of panache here, but not much inspiration. Read full review
50
USA TodayMike Clark
Nothing but set pieces, snoozes between its scenes of carnage.
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
I was pleased again and again by set-ups, camera angles, lighting effects, editing rhythms and the fanciful staging of action scenes. But I never for a moment cared about the characters, and the plot was all too conveniently structured - just a guideline to the action. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The real problem with Desperado, however, is that this sequel is without purpose and may be the most unnecessary follow-up since the second "Crocodile Dundee." Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
Search for some independent inspiration, and you'll be looking for a long time. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Mostly just another exercise in snappy editing and over-the-top mayhem that will leave most grown-up movie- goers cold. Read full review
50
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
What fun there is derives from the smart editing (Rodriguez did his own cutting, and he's quicker on the draw than most of the pistol-packers) and from Antonio Banderas, who, stepping neatly into the Mariachi's boots, lends irony and calm, and even a trace of sweetness, to a nothing role. Read full review
40
Washington PostRita Kempley
Desperado also has some entertaining twists, some sexy goings-on, but on the whole, watching the film is about as much fun as sitting on a cactus. Read full review
40
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Could scarcely be more dazzling on a purely visual level, but it's mortally anemic in the story, character and thematic departments. Read full review
40
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
Like "The Quick and the Dead," Desperado wavers uneasily between myth making and parody, so that too many scenes drag on long after they've lost their punch. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
A weakly comic splatter movie oversupplied with jokey, cartoonish violence. Read full review
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