Machete Kills Carries Much More Action than Machete

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Robert Rodriguez’s Machete Kills features Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, Sofia Vergara, Amber Heard, Antonio Banderas, Cuba Gooding Jr., Demian Bichir, Mel Gibson, Lady Gaga, Alexa Vega and Carlos Estevez (Charlie Sheen), among many others.

But it also includes Jessica Alba and Venessa Hudgens, though both sport minor parts. That’s what the second installment of Machete does – it keeps you guessing since it’s a star-studded cast!

“I really wanted it to be surprising and imaginative,” said Rodriguez during a press conference at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. while referring to this creative mind.

The action-packed Machete Kills brings back Trejo as Machete Cortez, the legendary secret agent who really does go on quite the adventure from time to time. This time around, though, we see an open-minded Machete: he texts, he’s emotional and he talks more.

When Rodriguez first approached Trejo about playing Machete, Rodriguez told him that he didn’t even have to act and that it was perfect for him. Trejo made it seem like Rodriguez was straight up with him.

“I enjoy this character,” said Trejo, noting Machete doesn’t take a step backwards and goes all out in everything he does.

Vega, as she so nicely said, believed in the characters the women played. “We clearly see the point in these characters, and they’re paying attention to what’s actually happening,” she said. “All of these women are either protecting something or standing up for something. And Robert has always done that in every single one of his films.”

In Machete Kills, we come to see many things that just wouldn’t happen in real life, and that’s what makes it very entertaining.

That’s what Rodriguez has accomplished over time: Desperado (1995), The Faculty (1998), Spy Kids (2001), Sin City (2005), and Machete (2010), among other films.

We just don’t know what to expect from Rodriguez. So, when he comes calling, actors don’t just say no to him. Working with Rodriguez seems like a lot of fun. Even Gibson himself became a true fan of Machete, and here he is in the sequel playing a global terrorist.

Bichir portrays Mendez, a villain with a bomb attached to his heart and a split personality. Vergara sees herself as Madame Desdemona (a lustful woman who hates men). The list goes on and on.

But not everyone involved with the film had to partake in an arduous physical regimen before shooting began. Marko Zaror, a martial arts expert since the age of 6 who plays Zaror in Machete Kills, says that it took him quite some time to prepare for his role.

“Before shooting, because it’s so intense, there’s a 3-month prep,” he said. “And when I’m fighting and before a tournament, it’s kind of like the same thing.” He added he undergoes an intense training method and a strict, special diet.

But that’s Rodriguez’s world; he almost brings everyone on board nowadays. And Machete Kills proves to be just that.

Staff Reporter Ramon Aviles contributed to this story.

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