---
title: "Once Upon a Time in Mexico"
year: 2003
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/once-upon-a-time-in-mexico"
fi1m_id: "once-upon-a-time-in-mexico"
imdb_id: "tt0285823"
tmdb_id: 1428
wikidata_id: "Q93853"
fi1m_score: 56
critics_score: 55
critics_reviews: 11
published: "2026-10-02T22:52:34.515842+00:00"
updated: "2026-10-02T22:52:35.076373+00:00"
region: "ZA"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)

Directed by Robert Rodriguez · 1h 42m · Action, Crime, Thriller, Western

## Identity

Once Upon a Time in Mexico

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/once-upon-a-time-in-mexico
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** once-upon-a-time-in-mexico
- **IMDb ID:** tt0285823
- **TMDB ID:** 1428
- **Wikidata ID:** Q93853
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0285823/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1428, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q93853

**Fi1m score: 56** · Critics 55 from 11 reviews

*In a sentence:* A cartel, a coup and a chihuahua, and only Johnny Depp seems to have been told the plot

> The third Mariachi film is loud, hot and busy, and it belongs to Johnny Depp’s rotten CIA man rather than to the hero. Rodriguez shoots, cuts and scores it himself, and the plot he wrote gets away from him well before the hour mark.

## Synopsis

In a cantina in Mexico, the bar owner Belini (Cheech Marin) tells a stranger the legend of El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas), the guitar player who shoots, and of his wife Carolina (Salma Hayek), who now appears only in his memory. The stranger is CIA agent Sands (Johnny Depp), who wants to hire him. A cartel boss, Armando Barillo (Willem Dafoe), is paying a general to overthrow the President of Mexico; Sands wants the general dead once the coup is done. The Mariachi, living alone in a village of guitar makers, has his own reasons to want the man. He gathers his old companions Lorenzo (Enrique Iglesias) and Fideo (Marco Leonardi), while Sands recruits a retired FBI agent, Jorge (Rubén Blades), and a hired gun, Cucuy (Danny Trejo). Barillo’s American lieutenant Billy Chambers (Mickey Rourke) carries a chihuahua.

## Review

Robert Rodriguez finishes the story he began with *El Mariachi* in 1992 and continued with *Desperado* in 1995, and borrows a Sergio Leone title to tell us how big he means it to be. He directs, writes, shoots, cuts, scores, designs and produces. What he has made is 102 minutes of guns, guitars and sunburnt colour that is never dull for long and never clear for long either. It is a mixed bag, and most of what is good in it is Johnny Depp.

Depp plays Sands, a CIA agent with no superiors we ever see and no grievance we ever learn, as a tourist who has found a country he can do anything in. He wears pastel shirts and a T-shirt that spells out what the letters CIA stand for in his version of the agency. He orders the same pork dish in every restaurant and shoots the cook if it is too good, because it upsets the balance. He puts on a prosthetic third arm for no reason the plot requires. We laughed, properly and often, and every time it was Depp, lolling in a chair and explaining a coup to someone who did not ask.

The trouble is that the hero of the film is someone else. The Mariachi sits in a village of guitar makers, says little, and remembers his wife. Banderas is good at this kind of stillness, and the film gives him almost nothing to do with it; whenever he starts to brood, Rodriguez cuts back to Sands running errands. Hayek is in the film only in flashback. One of those flashbacks, told by Belini in the first ten minutes, has the two of them handcuffed together and swinging down the front of a hotel, storey by storey, as the balconies give way behind them. It moved us more than the rest of the film put together. It is the one time the film’s feeling and its stunt work are in the same shot.

Then the plot arrives. Barillo is paying a general to kill the President. Sands wants the general killed after he does it. Sands hires Jorge to go after Barillo, Cucuy to watch the Mariachi, and gets a cross officer called Ajedrez (Eva Mendes) involved for reasons that come later. Chambers, Barillo’s man, carries a small dog and looks sad about it. Each of these people gets a scene in which someone explains to them what is going on, and by the fourth such scene we had stopped listening. We were bored, and then we were cross about it, because the film kept promising a shootout as a reward for sitting through the briefing.

Rodriguez’s own photography is the hot, overbright kind: oranges and ochres pushed until the plaster looks lit from inside, nights the blue of a swimming pool. He cuts his action into fragments, a gun, a face, a man through a window, and at speed it has a rough energy. Lorenzo and Fideo’s guitar cases open into things that are not guitars, and that joke still works. His score is a twanging guitar and a trumpet playing the same figure over and over, and after an hour it is wallpaper. Graciela Mazón’s costumes are the best department: the Mariachi in black with silver down the seams, Sands in shirts no agency would sign off, Ajedrez pressed and buttoned to the throat.

Dafoe plays Barillo with a sneer and a tan and not much else. Rourke gives Chambers tired eyes and a good suit and seems to be in a quieter film. Blades is the one who stays with us, a retired man who has seen all this before and does not care to see it again. Trejo scowls. Iglesias and Leonardi are fine as backing.

Leone’s films took their time and let one man’s want fill the frame. *Desperado* had one revenge and one woman and got on with both. This has a dozen schemes and lets Depp carry all of them, which he nearly does. Watch it at home, where you can stop pretending to follow the coup and simply wait for him to come back. Something happens to Sands in the last act that we will not describe, and he is funnier after it.

*Fi1m score 56, published 2 October 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics land in the middle, and they agree on where the fun is. Johnny Depp’s CIA agent is singled out again and again as the best thing in the film, and several reviews say the energy drops whenever he is off screen. The action is generally thought to be handled well, and more than one critic finds the whole thing enjoyable in a loud, brash way even while admitting it disappoints.

The reservations cluster on the plot. Nearly everyone calls it overcomplicated, meandering or rushed, and a few find it a repeat of the series’ formula with Banderas pushed to the margins. The spread is fairly narrow: eight reviews are mixed, three are negative, none are positive. The AV Club takes the harder line, calling it an overstuffed misfire while still praising Banderas and the action choreography; Slant finds the violence increasingly rote. Collider, writing years later, mostly commends the Blu-ray transfer.

## Straight answers

**Is Once Upon a Time in Mexico worth watching?**

*Once Upon a Time in Mexico* is a mixed bag we scored 56: loud, hot and busy, with a plot that gets away from Robert Rodriguez well before the hour mark. Most of what is good in it is Johnny Depp's rotten CIA man, and anyone who sits down for him rather than for the hero will have the better evening.

**How long is Once Upon a Time in Mexico, and what is it rated?**

*Once Upon a Time in Mexico* runs 1h 42m. It is an action and crime film.

**Where can I watch Once Upon a Time in Mexico in South Africa?**

*Once Upon a Time in Mexico* is not on any streaming or rental service in South Africa at the moment. It is available in 34 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily.

**How violent or frightening is Once Upon a Time in Mexico, and is it suitable for children?**

*Once Upon a Time in Mexico* is a UK 15, and not for children: it is 102 minutes of guns, guitars and sunburnt colour, with shootouts cut into fast fragments and a hero who kills to avenge a dead wife. It is not frightening so much as relentless, and the squeamish should know that the violence is constant even when the plot is not clear.

**How does Once Upon a Time in Mexico compare to Once Upon a Time in the West?**

*Once Upon a Time in Mexico* borrows its title from Sergio Leone's [*Once Upon a Time in the West*](https://film.one/film/once-upon-a-time-in-the-west) and little else; Leone is slow where Rodriguez is fast. The earlier film is the better by some distance, letting one man's want fill the frame while Rodriguez juggles a dozen schemes. Choose the Western for dread, the Mexico film for Depp.

**What should I watch after Once Upon a Time in Mexico?**

After *Once Upon a Time in Mexico*, try [*Once Upon a Time in the West*](https://film.one/film/once-upon-a-time-in-the-west) (1968, Fi1m 91): The Leone this film borrows its title from, slow where this is fast. Then [*The Good, the Bad, the Weird*](https://film.one/film/the-good-the-bad-the-weird) (2008, Fi1m 74): Korean Western with three thieves, a map and a desert chase that keeps its head; and [*The Wild Bunch*](https://film.one/film/the-wild-bunch) (1969, Fi1m 84): Americans dying in Mexico for money and pride, shot and cut like nothing before it.

### Reviews we read (11)

- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (65/100, inferred): Bradshaw finds the film boisterously entertaining but says it loses energy when Johnny Depp is off screen. He singles out Depp’s comic performance as the main source of its fun. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian_review/0,,1049531,00.html)
- **Variety**, David Rooney (65/100, inferred): Rooney finds the film an entertaining, technically accomplished action spectacle, though its overcomplicated plot weakens it. He especially praises Johnny Depp’s inventive performance and the soulful flashbacks to the Mariachi’s relationship with Carolina. [Read](https://variety.com/2003/film/reviews/once-upon-a-time-in-mexico-1200539745/)
- **Screen Daily**, Lee Marshall (64/100, inferred): The page identifies this as a review, but its verdict is not accessible. The review text is behind a paywall, so its specific praise or criticism cannot be determined. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/once-upon-a-time-in-mexico/4014839.article)
- **The New York Times**, A.O. Scott (64/100, inferred): The page is inaccessible, so the critic’s verdict cannot be determined. Its praise or complaint cannot be verified from the available text. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/12/movies/film-review-guitar-in-his-hand-revenge-in-his-heart.html)
- **Time Out**, GM (64/100, inferred): The available description characterizes the film as brash and flamboyant, but does not reveal the critic’s overall verdict. It singles out the film’s influences, though the description is cut off before specifying them. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/once-upon-a-time-in-mexico-1)
- **Empire**, Mark Dinning (3/5): Dinning finds the film disappointing overall but still terrific fun. He praises Johnny Depp’s comic performance, while criticizing the meandering plot and the way it sidelines Banderas. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/upon-time-mexico-review/)
- **Radio Times**, Adam Smith (3/5): Smith argues the film repeats the series’ familiar formula and feels stuck in a groove. He singles out Johnny Depp’s CIA agent as the film’s most entertaining element. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-65fz4u/once-upon-a-time-in-mexico/)
- **Total Film**, Total Film (3/5): The review finds the film enjoyable but too rushed and unfocused to match its Sergio Leone inspirations. It especially praises Johnny Depp’s entertaining, quirky performance as Sands. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/once-upon-a-time-in-mexico-review/)
- **Slant Magazine**, Jeremiah Kipp (1.5/4): Kipp gives the film a sharply negative verdict, faulting its sham plotting and increasingly rote violence. He singles out Johnny Depp’s lost, wandering character as the film’s more effective element. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/once-upon-a-time-in-mexico/)
- **The AV Club**, Keith Phipps (30/100, inferred): Phipps finds the film an overstuffed, convoluted misfire that loses its direction and humor. He praises Banderas’s performance and Rodriguez’s action choreography, but faults the long expository stretches and sloppy plotting. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/once-upon-a-time-in-mexico-1798198861)
- **Collider**, Andre Dellamorte (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the film chaotic and wearying, with a plot that struggles to connect its many characters and set pieces. They praise its clean, beautiful Blu-ray presentation, which makes the film more palatable. [Read](https://collider.com/robert-rodriguez-mariachi-trilogy-blu-ray-review/)

## Details

- **Director:** Robert Rodriguez
- **Director:** Robert Rodriguez
- **Screenplay:** Robert Rodriguez
- **Cinematography:** Robert Rodriguez
- **Editor:** Robert Rodriguez
- **Music:** Robert Rodriguez
- **Production design:** Robert Rodriguez
- **Costume design:** Graciela Mazón
- **Producer:** Carlos Gallardo, Elizabeth Avellan, Robert Rodriguez
- **Cast:** Antonio Banderas as El Mariachi; Johnny Depp as CIA Agent Jeffrey Sands; Cheech Marin as Belini; Salma Hayek as Carolina; Mickey Rourke as Billy Chambers; Willem Dafoe as Armando Barillo; Eva Mendes as CIA Agent Ajedrez; Danny Trejo as Cucuy
- **Runtime:** 1h 42m
- **First release (Italy):** 27 August 2003
- **Genres:** Action, Crime, Thriller, Western
- **Budget:** $29 million
- **Box office:** $99 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JrCqCz6CBA

## Where to watch in South Africa

Not streaming, renting or buying in South Africa at the last check.

Also available in: AR, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CL, CO, CZ, DE, EC, EE, ES, FR, GB, HR, HU, IN, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NZ, PA, PE, PL, PT, RO, RS, SI, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *Desperado* (1995): The previous Mariachi film, with one revenge, one woman and far less explaining.
- *Once Upon a Time in the West* (1968), Fi1m 91: The Leone this film borrows its title from, slow where this is fast. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/once-upon-a-time-in-the-west.md)
- *The Good, the Bad, the Weird* (2008), Fi1m 74: Korean Western with three thieves, a map and a desert chase that keeps its head. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-good-the-bad-the-weird.md)
- *The Wild Bunch* (1969), Fi1m 84: Americans dying in Mexico for money and pride, shot and cut like nothing before it. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-wild-bunch.md)
- *Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas* (1998): Depp given a whole film to be as unhinged as Sands, and taking it.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/once-upon-a-time-in-mexico