55
Metascore
18 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenTake 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.
- 89Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAustin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenA 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.
- 80Washington PostDesson ThomsonWashington PostDesson ThomsonThe 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.
- 75Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanThe camera loves Banderas -- a velvet stud -- as much as it did the young Clint Eastwood.
- 60TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineUnquestionably 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.
- 50USA TodayMike ClarkUSA TodayMike ClarkNothing but set pieces, snoozes between its scenes of carnage.
- 50Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertI 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.
- 50ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliThe 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."
- 40VarietyTodd McCarthyVarietyTodd McCarthyCould scarcely be more dazzling on a purely visual level, but it's mortally anemic in the story, character and thematic departments.
- 40The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinLike "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.