Directed by : Robert Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis
Running Time: 104 minutes
‘Machete’ is Robert Rodriguez’s feature that arose from the fake trailer that accompanied his and Tarantino’s bad ass double feature,
Grindhouse. The fake Machete trailer received such an overwhelming response that Rodriguez decided to turn it into a feature.
Machete is a former Federale agent who is hired as a hitman to kill the anti-immigrant US senator (played by De Niro) but when things don’t exactly go according to plan, Machete embarks on a mission for revenge. Machete seeks the help of a beautiful Mexican activist and the unlikely help of a beautiful immigration agent.
Machete has everything any guy could ever hope for: overblown action sequences, gratuitous violence, trailer worthy dialogue and amazingly hot women. Rodriguez appropriately takes a dig at Arizona’s outrageous immigration law and as Machete said ‘ You fucked with the wrong Mexican’.
The music in the film perfectly fits the outrageous and over the top tone Machete carries. The effects are good, as are always from Rodriguez especially his title sequences, which never disappoint. The action is great throughout the film, although the last encounter Machete has with Torrez ( played by Steven Seagal) is a bit underwhelming in my opinion, although it is good my expectations for a Rodriguez film were a bit higher.
The casting choices are excellent, everyone gives an amazing performance, especially Trejo, De Niro and Michelle Rodriguez. Lindsay Lohan gives a believable performance as April, despite the controversy surrounding her now a days.
Machete is an extremely enjoyable film and is everything it lends itself to be. Rodriguez, as always successfully manages to give his fans exactly what they want.
While exploring an old abandoned house, Michele notices a trap door and looks inside. To his surprise he sees a very fragile/malnutritioned child squinting back at him and it gives a Michele a huge scare. It turns out, the child’s name is Filippo and strangely he thinks he is dead. 
Salvatores takes his time to get to the climax. He depicts how Michele’s secret grows in his mind. That is to say that for Michele there were also other things to think about, as for when he longs for a toy blue truck that belongs to a friend, he strikes a bargain to get it. Essentially, the urgency of the situation only gradually grows in Filippos mind. 
This film is a helpful reminder that in childhood days seemed to last forever. Parents were by far a law that was not to be questioned, as they had demonstrated that they knew best and that we were only children. ‘ Io non ha paura’ is a depiction of true childhood, of it’s fears and doubts, of the way a conversation can be overheard but not understood, of the innocence of a child.
