MACHETE Meets Mad Mel
Why are we surprised that Mel Gibson is considering a role in Robert Rodriguez' upcoming Machete Kills? Did we think Mel was somehow above it? Even when on top, Mel always had a sense of humor about himself, most recently trying to go the self-parody route with The Hangover Part 2. Unfortunately, that crew got a sudden (and selective) attack of moral superiority, choosing to reprise a convicted rapist's cameo while shunning the idea of an alcoholic racist auteur slumming in their film. Are we surprised that Rodriguez is willing to put Gibson in his film? He used Lindsay Lohan as a visual punchline in the first Machete when she probably should have been in a hospital somewhere.
That said, casting these damaged souls in the films is probably the closest the Machete franchise will get to true B-movie sleaze. Machete never got any better as a concept than the trailer in 2007's Grindhouse: it was loud, fast, ridiculous and, most importantly, three minutes long. The eventual feature film (and from the sound of it, the sequel) feels like fanboys fucking around, just this side of Rob Zombie's horrorcon-cast opuses. But they're fun diversions; I saw the last one and I'll see this one (as will audiences, which is more than can be said for The Beaver, Gibson's last attempt at onscreen redemption). Maybe Rodriguez will go full fanboy and deck out Gibson in some post-apocalyptic police leather. Asses in seats!
Given the recent news (revealed during his most recently released spoken-word performance) that Gibson's Maccabees film probably isn't happening, and following word that Get the Gringo is headed straight to video (in the States, at least), the notion of Mel Gibson possibly fighting Danny Trejo in space is hilarious in theory, but just a little bit sad to me.
