Danny Trejo is back in Machete Kills and Robert Rodriguez directs his once fake trailer from the Grindhouse films as ex-federale (Trejo) is recruited by the American President (Sheen) to stop an arms dealer (Gibson) and a revolutionary with a personality disorder(Bichir).

The film is preceded by a fake trailer that includes Leonardo DiCaprio as the man in the silver mask, something to note for later on in the film.

As for the rest of the film, Trejo chops, cuts and thrusts, there are hot ladies, despicable villains and star cameos. The film is cheap, sleazy and violent and carries the tongue in cheek sentiments of the Grindhouse movies.

The sequel does not reach the heights of the first film when Machete's verve felt fresh. This film feels unnecessary with the jokes wearing thin and the plot forgettable.

The first MACHETE film was a slightly disappointing B-movie. It should have been easy enough to get right, but I blamed the film's lack of entertainment value on the presence of a no-name director. This sequel has Robert Rodriguez at the helm, so I was hoping for something a bit better, but what we get is more of the same.

The problem with these films is that they're just too deliberately silly to succeed. They should have been played straight so that the viewers could laugh at their goofiness naturally, a bit like some of the more successful Asylum or SyFy Channel outings. Instead, these play dumb from the start, and the ridiculous script doesn't help. Sure, it has its moments, but for the most part there's just something lacking.

MACHETE KILLS sees everyone's favourite Mexican B-actor, Danny Trejo, playing a Bond-style character who's sent on a secret mission by the US President (a well-cast Charlie Sheen). The story is preposterous, but there's tons of action here, none of it particularly memorable however despite the OTT violence and effects. Instead, Rodriguez and co focus on delivering a non-stop array of star cameos, some of which work (Antonio Banderas, Tom Savini) while others are just annoying (Lady Gaga).

I was struck by two things: that Mel Gibson deserves better work than his villainous turn here, and also at just how bad an actress Sofia Vergara is. Unfortunately the viewer will be given over to such musings as they watch, because there really isn't much else going on here. The best MACHETE is STILL the spoof trailer they made as part of the GRINDHOUSE experience, because that's the only thing that got the '70s exploitation tone just right.

Director Robert Rodriguez brings back Machete (Danny Trejo) in this grindhouse sequel. This time the US President (Charlie Sheen) has asked Machete to kill a Mexican crime lord who wants to launch a nuke at Washington. Only Voz (Mel Gibson) is the actual brains and has an even crazier plan.

I do love the opening coming attraction. It has the most joy and comedy. The feature is silly, but not silly enough to make me laugh. It's never funny in the traditional sense. Danny Trejo is too serious, and mean looking. He's just not a comedian. And the shock of the B-movie schlock is gone now. The originality of seeing something different isn't there anymore.

Every once in awhile, Rodriguez comes upon a funny setup like blowing up the wheelchair guy with a rocket. And there is nothing wrong with a girl fight between Michelle Rodriguez and Amber Heard. Although I think Charlie Sheen could be even crazier, Mel Gibson is too crazy. It's a movie where I could watch the opening multiple times, but once is enough for the rest.