The 90s were packed full of iconic action movies, from the mile-a-minute thrills of Speed to the genre-blending badassery of Blade and The Matrix. One ’90s-era film that definitely deserves its flowers is Robert Rodriguez‘s Desperado, which is now available to stream for free on Tubi. The second installment of Rodriguez’s “Mexico Trilogy” finds the mysterious El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas) seeking revenge against crime lord Bucho (Joaquim de Almeida), which leads to plenty of bloody shootouts along the way.

30 Years Later, ‘Desperado’ Is Still an Overlooked Masterpiece of Action Filmmaking

Image via Sony Pictures Releasing

When Robert Rodriguez made El Mariachi, the first part of the “Mexico Trilogy”, he did so with a mere $7000, yet still managed to parlay that into intense fight sequences & a $2.6 million windfall at the box office. Desperado cranks things up in every way, starting with one of Bucho’s thugs (Steve Buscemi) sitting down at a bar to tell the rest of his compatriots how he barely survived a shootout with El Mariachi. This scene is twofold; it sets the stakes and also shows how El Mariachi has become a truly deadly force.

Rodriguez then follows that up with a bloody shootout at the very same bar, featuring a cameo from none other than fellow filmmaker and friend Quentin Tarantino as one of El Mariachi’s victims. It’s the first of many blood-soaked, bullet-filled showdowns to come, and it’s a great excuse for Rodriguez to flex his increased budget — especially in the final moments of Desperado, which features a massive explosion. Banderas would later describe how dangerous that explosion really was in a retrospective with Entertainment Weekly:

“Here, we were playing there with our lives, literally…I mean, the heat behind us was so intense that it burned a little bit of my hair.”

Despite having a bigger budget to work with, Rodriguez ran into issues when the first cut of Desperado was slapped with a dreaded NC-17 rating. To get it to R-rated territory, he cut the film’s final gunfight, which results in the iconic “fade to white” ending in the theatrical cut of Desperado. This lends the film an air of finality; even though it was followed up with Once Upon a Time in Mexico, the auidence feels like they’ve gotten a complete story.

‘Desperado’ Helped Catapult Salma Hayek Into Stardom

Desperado isn’t just shootouts and bloodshed. During the course of his quest for revenge, El Mariachi romances a bookstore owner named Carolina, who’s entangled in Bucho’s criminal operations. Carolina is played by Salma Hayek, who has one of the most iconic entrance sequences in cinematic history. When we’re first introduced to Carolina, she literally causes a traffic accident walking by. It’s utterly ridiculous, and yet believable because of Hayek’s presence. Hayek would even talk about how people kept bringing up Desperado whenever they meet her:

“What they tell me is many people saw it many times, and they’re watching again throughout the years. I’ve had young dudes come up to me like, “That was my father’s favorite movie, and then it became my favorite movie.” It’s funny how many people bring it up still to this day.”

Thanks to Desperado, Hayek’s career would skyrocket as she nabbed a wide range of roles, even reteaming with Rodriguez on multiple projects. Banderas would also see his own career shift, as he tended to play more swashbuckling badasses like Zorro or Puss in Boots. 30 years might have passed, but Desperado remains one of the defining films of the ’90s.

Desperado is available to stream on Tubi.

Release Date

August 25, 1995

Runtime

1h 44m

Director

Robert Rodriguez