Machete Kills (2013)
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A legendary vigilante is recruited by the U.S. President to stop a psychopath from launching a nuclear missile.
The story
Machete Cortez and agent Sartana Rivera attempt to arrest corrupt military members involved in a weapons deal with a Mexican drug cartel group. After the military team is wiped out, Machete is arrested and hanged by corrupt officers. However, he survives and is contacted by U.S. President Rathcock. The President offers to wipe Machete's criminal record and grant him citizenship if he can confirm a threat from Marcos Mendez, a psychopath who intends to fire a nuclear missile at Washington, D.C. if the government does not stop the cartels and the corrupt Mexican government.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Machete Cortez and agent Sartana Rivera attempt to arrest corrupt military members involved in a weapons deal with a Mexican drug cartel group. After the military team is wiped out, Machete is arrested and hanged by corrupt officers. He survives and is contacted by U.S. President Rathcock, who offers him citizenship and a clean record if he stops Marcos Mendez, a psychopath planning to launch a nuclear missile at Washington, D.C. Machete travels to San Antonio and Acapulco, meeting handler Blanca Vasquez and the captive Cereza. Machete learns Mendez has wired the missile's launch device to his own heart. Machete intends to escort Mendez to the US to disarm it. They are targeted by various assassins, including a shapeshifting hitman and the corrupt officers. After Mendez is decapitated by a reborn Zaror, Machete is saved and placed in a healing tank by businessman Luther Voz. Voz reveals his plan to use nuclear weapons to escape to a space station and wants Machete as a prototype for a cloned army. Machete escapes, joins Luz's network, and eventually infiltrates Voz's base. He discovers Voz is the masked man who killed Sartana, fights him, and burns his face. Machete then jumps on the launching missile, disarming it in mid-air. The film ends with Rathcock asking Machete to follow Voz to space on a SpaceX rocket.
- First release year
- 2013
- Runtime (minutes)
- 108
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English; Spanish
- Directors
- Robert Rodriguez
- Writers
- Kyle Ward · screenplay; Robert Rodriguez · story; Marcel Rodriguez · story
- Cast and characters
- Danny Trejo · Machete; Michelle Rodriguez · Sartana Rivera; Sofía Vergara; Amber Heard; Lady Gaga; Carlos Estévez · U.S. President Rathcock; Antonio Banderas; Cuba Gooding Jr.; Walton Goggins; William Sadler; Demián Bichir · Marcos Mendez; Mel Gibson · arms dealer
- Genres
- action; exploitation; action thriller
- Themes
- Vigilantism; Corruption; Survival
- Tone and mood
- Schlocky; Lunatic; Action-packed
- Premise and plot tags
- Sequel; Spin-off; Action Thriller
- Source material / true-story basis
- Fake trailer in Grindhouse (2007)
- Franchise connections
- Machete
- Reception
- The film received mixed or average reviews, with a 29% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 41 out of 100 on Metacritic. Audiences gave it a B- on CinemaScore.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 29% · review count: 124
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Raspberry Award · Worst Supporting Actress · Lost
- Production trivia
- Principal photography took only 29 days.; The film's release date was pushed back to avoid competition with Insidious: Chapter 2.; The film is framed by trailers for a sequel titled Machete Kills Again...In Space.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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