Machete Blu-ray Review
Score: 70
from 4 reviewers
Review Date:
"Machete" on Blu-ray offers a striking HD transfer, robust audio, and an ironic, pulpy vibe, though it lacks in supplements and may feel a bit drawn out.
![Machete Blu-ray Front Cover](https://images.mightychroma.me/content/medium_machete_blu_ray_front_2ae59fe818.jpeg)
Disc Release Date
DTS-HD MA
Video: 79
Machete's Blu-ray presentation boasts a 1080p high definition transfer in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, preserving the film's grindhouse aesthetic with faux-damage effects, vivid color calibration, and exceptional detail. Despite occasional oversaturation and digital artifacts, it offers a visually dynamic and immersive HD experience.
Audio: 76
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track for 'Machete' delivers a bombastic and immersive experience with powerful bass, dynamic action sequences, and a crunchy rock score by Chingon. While some dialogue clarity issues and occasional unbalanced room dynamics are noted, the overall sound design remains impressive, if not quite demo material.
Extra: 52
The Blu-ray extras for "Machete" are disappointingly sparse compared to Rodriguez's past releases, featuring a lackluster audience reaction track, 10 worthwhile deleted scenes with unused characters and plot points, two theatrical trailers, and minimal BD-Live content, hinting at an inevitable double-dip edition.
Movie: 70
Machete is a delightfully over-the-top homage to exploitation films, delivering gratuitous nudity, gory violence, and sly humor. Directed by Robert Rodriguez and featuring an eclectic cast including Danny Trejo and Robert De Niro, the film achieves a thrilling blend of action and satire with standout performances and seamless integration of its mock trailer roots.
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Video: 79
The Blu Ray of "Machete" delivers a high-definition 1080p AVC-encoded transfer adhering to an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, aligned perfectly with Robert Rodriguez's trademark 'grindhouse' style. The faux-aged, distressed look—complete with speckles, scratches, and grain—is artfully implemented primarily during the opening sequence. Despite this deliberate digital wear and tear, the overall image throughout the film is remarkably clean and vivid. Fine details such as pores, scars, and textural nuances on Danny Trejo's iconic visage are rendered with exceptional clarity. The film’s visual style successfully captures the gritty essence intended while maintaining a crisp, near-reference quality high definition transfer, devoid of digital noise reduction or edge enhancement artifacts.
The color palette is notably vivid, with sun-drenched locales and dynamically shaded elements contributing to a visually compelling experience. Bold primary colors, especially blood red, contrast sharply within scenes. However, skin tones sometimes venture into an exaggerated, oversaturated range, giving characters a slightly orange hue—a stylistic choice that some viewers may find jarring. Black levels remain solid, except in a few dimly lit interiors where they elevate to deep gray to preserve shadow detail. The transfer also excels in sustaining a strong contrast without washing out finer details, enhancing the film's three-dimensional depth. Overall, the Blu-ray video presentation of "Machete" is meticulously faithful to its grindhouse roots while offering significant visual opulence that surpasses that of Rodriguez's “Planet Terror.”
Audio: 76
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track for "Machete" delivers a generally powerful and immersive audio experience, well-suited to the film's high-octane nature. From the outset, the memorable Machete theme by Rodriguez's band, Chingon, sets the tone with dynamic impact. The track excels during action sequences where obliterated thugs, slashing metal, and growling engines invigorate the listening area with chest-thumping low-frequency energy. Bullets tear through the soundfield, even puncturing virtual windows behind the listener's head in moments of intense action. However, while the front channels are seamlessly integrated with tightly infused surrounds creating a stable soundstage, the use of rear channels for ambience and atmospherics is somewhat sparse.
Despite the robust presentation, the audio track does have its drawbacks. The dialogue can sometimes be challenging to discern, particularly with certain characters known for their muffled speech, such as Steven Seagal's and Jeff Fahey’s roles. This necessitates turning up the volume to catch all the details, which can risk waking neighbors due to the overall loudness of the track. Additionally, some sequences seem cheaply designed, like McLoughlan's speech scene where crowd noises are disappointingly confined to the front channels only. Overall, while the DTS-HD Master Audio track packs a punch and enriches the viewing experience, it falls short of being demo material due to its inconsistency in dialogue clarity and surround usage. However, it remains an enjoyable and rowdy complement to the film's chaotic energy.
Extra: 52
Robert Rodriguez's Blu-Ray release of "Machete" surprisingly offers minimal extras, a departure from his typically feature-rich discs. The most significant addition is 10 minutes of compelling deleted scenes that introduce new characters and story elements, offering insights into character motivations and backstories. Unfortunately, the highly anticipated commentary and Rodriguez’s famous ‘cooking school’ documentary are notably absent. An 'Audience Reaction Track' is included but feels redundant, aiming to replicate the theater experience but failing to provide substantial value. The disc also features several trailers, including the theatrical and the red band versions, and promises a BD-Live exclusive deleted scene, though accessibility issues were reported. Overall, this release hints at a future double-dip collector’s edition given the current lack of substantive extras.
Extras included in this disc:
- Audience Reaction Track: Features audience reactions in Dolby Digital 5.1.
- Deleted Scenes: Includes 10 new scenes that delve into additional character arcs.
- Theatrical Trailer: Original promotional trailer.
- Red Band Theatrical Trailer: Uncensored version of the promotional trailer.
- BD-Live: Promises an exclusive deleted scene but may have accessibility issues.
- Pocket BLU: Wi-Fi download option for Apple products.
- Digital Copy: Provides a digital version of the film.
Movie: 70
Robert Rodriguez's Machete is a wildly entertaining homage to exploitation cinema that revels in its over-the-top action and gratuitous content. Featuring an eclectic all-star ensemble including Danny Trejo, Robert De Niro, and Jessica Alba, the film pays tribute to 1970s schlock with a modern twist. From brutal decapitations to unexpected moments of nudity, Machete captures the essence of its faux-trailer origins from Rodriguez's Grindhouse. The unabashedly silly narrative—centered on ex-Federale Machete's (Trejo) bloody quest for revenge after being double-crossed—richly delivers on its promise, blurring lines between satire and outright absurdity.
The technical execution of Machete is noteworthy, striking a balance between stylized violence and self-aware humor. The film opens explosively, showcasing visceral action sequences such as triple decapitations, a sultry Latina wielding a hidden cell phone in a ludicrous yet hilarious set-up, and Steven Seagal's over-the-top performance as a sword-wielding drug lord. Rodriguez's directed chaos provides riveting visuals and a relentless pace that minimizes idle moments despite its slightly overlong runtime. The vivid absurdity persists, from Machete swinging from a man's intestines to Cheech Marin’s shotgun-toting priest.
While the acting spectrum extends from Danny Trejo’s perfectly stoic demeanor to De Niro’s engaging yet affected Texan drawl, the cast elevates the schlocky dialogue and thinly veiled satire into memorable performances. Michelle Rodriguez carries a balance of toughness and heart as revolutionary Shé, although Jessica Alba's role remains more ornamental. Despite these performances often teetering on parody, their earnestness lends credibility to an otherwise tongue-in-cheek production. Highlights include witty social commentary on immigration juxtaposed against ludicrous action sequences, culminating in a film that dares viewers to suspend disbelief for pure entertainment's sake.
Total: 70
Machete is a summer action movie done right�it's pulpy and visceral, but it also has an ironic, tongue-in-cheek tone that lies somewhere between spoof, satire, and homage. The Blu-ray disc is a winner as well�with a striking high definition transfer and a strong audio track�although it does come up short in the supplements department. Regardless, if you're looking for something fun, funny, and as violent as all hell, Machete definitely fits the bill. Recommended. 'Machete' is a fun film, even if it panders and is drawn out about twenty (or thirty) minutes too long. It's an absolutely great experience for Trejo fans, who are used to seeing their main man in minor roles, getting offed often. The rest of the cast is a slight disappointment, but Trejo, man does he rock in this film. With faithful, though sometimes ugly video, and strong audio, this Blu-ray is hardly a disappointment. It comes with an easy recommendation, though I do fear an inevitable double dip in the near future.
"Machete" on Blu-ray delivers a captivating summer action experience suffused with irony and a playful nod to genre conventions. The film strikes an excellent balance between spoof, satire, and homage, all while maintaining a pulpy, visceral appeal that will resonate with fans of intense, violent action fare. Whereas the high-definition transfer stands out vividly, highlighting the gritty visual texture that complements the film's rough charm, the audio track provides a robust accompaniment that immerses the viewer fully into Machete's universe. The Blu-ray does lack in the extras department, which might disappoint those looking for behind-the-scenes insights or additional content.
Danny Trejo's performance as Machete is undoubtedly the highlight, making up for some of the shortcomings associated with the supporting cast. Trejo's portrayal breathes life into a character traditionally seen only in minor roles. While some might find the film's length excessive by twenty to thirty minutes, it remains a thoroughly enjoyable experience worth revisiting. The video quality, although faithful to the source material's gritty aesthetic, may occasionally appear unattractive under scrutiny. Nevertheless, the compatibility of the strong audio performance with this video output ensures that these minor flaws do not detract significantly from the overall experience.
In conclusion, "Machete" offers a high-octane, tongue-in-cheek action film that's both entertaining and technically commendable on Blu-ray. Despite minor deficiencies in supplementary content and some imperfections in video quality, this remains a rewarding purchase for fans looking for humor-infused ultraviolence anchored by Danny Trejo's stellar performance. Highly recommended.
avforums review by Casimir HarlowRead review here
Video: 90
Now anybody familiar with Rodriguez’s trademark ‘grindhouse’ style should also know what to expect here – the image faux-damaged, aged, scratched and jumpy, all made to look like some dodgy 70s b-movie...
Audio: 80
And you really have to play it loud, not just because it sometimes feels a tad on the suppressed side, but also because the dialogue is definitely in the mumble-driven category....
Extras: 60
I know it may be a little odd watching an episode of Friends without canned laughter playing in the background, but for movies it’s surely not the same case....
Movie: 80
And for all those with an open mind, suitably moderated expectations, and an ability to laugh at both the numerous decapitations and the unabashed nudity (the naked hot chick with the hidden phone at the...
Total: 80
Blu-ray.com review by Casey BroadwaterRead review here
Video: 90
For its opening sequence, Machete sticks with the artificially "distressed" film techniques that were used in the Grindhouse movies� jitters, scratches, some intentional fuzziness and the like�but perhaps...
Audio: 80
For a more complete grindhouse-at-home experience, you can also select a Dolby Digital 5.1 "Audience Reaction Track," which effectively puts you in the middle of a virtual theater crowded with patrons...
Extras: 20
Here's all you'll get: Deleted Scenes (1080p, 10:58): Ten short-but-worth-watching excised scenes....
Movie: 70
Just when we get used to the idea of this sultry Latina as our potential heroine, she stabs Machete in the leg with his own knife and then reaches down, pulls a cell phone out of her lady parts, and calls...
Total: 70
Machete is a summer action movie done right�it's pulpy and visceral, but it also has an ironic, tongue-in-cheek tone that lies somewhere between spoof, satire, and homage....
High-Def DigestRead review here
Video: 80
The blips, scratches, lines, and dirt that were digitally added to make the 'Grindhouse' features and trailers seem aged are heavy in the opening sequence, and pop up on a few occasions in the film, but...
Audio: 80
It's not a perfect track, and it can sometimes be loud for the sake of being loud, and not all that well balanced throughout the entire room, but it's still, an enjoyable, rowdy track that fits the film...
Extras: 0
There are some very memorable moments and one liners, including a twist on the greatest silencer known to man....
Movie: 60
It's a shame, too, considering how much potential some of the moments had, particularly the machine gun mounted on the motorcycle, or the spot with Cheech Marin as a pastor with a penchant for murder....
Total: 60
It's an absolutely great experience for Trejo fans, who are used to seeing their main man in minor roles, getting offed often....
AVSForumRead review here
Video: 90
The opening segment utilizes the same stylized visuals used in the Grindhouse series which is intended to create an aging film effect by using a layering process to introduce the appearance of print damage...
Audio: 90
This mix creates an enriching sound field that comes alive during action based segments as the sounds of obliterated thugs, slashing metal, growling engines and flying bullets invigorate the listening...
Extras: 30
Audience reaction track (HD) 10 deleted scenes (HD) Theatrical trailer (HD) Red Band Theatrical trailer BD-Live: Live Extras - Exclusive deleted scene McLaughlin in hospital Pocket BLU - with Wi-Fi download...
Movie: 70
Set up, double-crossed and left for dead, Machete (Trejo) is an ass-kicking ex-Federale who lays waste to anything that gets in his path....
Total: 70
THX Ultra 2 Preamp/Video Processor Sherbourn Technologies - 7/200 Seven Channel Amplifier Oppo BDP-83 Universal disc/Blu-ray Player (HDMI Audio/Video)...
Director: Ethan Maniquis, Robert Rodriguez
Actors: Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, Robert De Niro
PlotA former Mexican Federale named Machete is set up and betrayed by a notorious drug lord named Torrez, leaving him for dead. Years later, now living in Texas as a day laborer, Machete is approached by Michael Booth, a businessman with shady connections, to assassinate a corrupt anti-immigration senator, John McLaughlin. However, Machete soon discovers it’s a setup, part of a conspiracy involving powerful political figures and businessmen aiming to control the border for their own gain. Severely wounded, Machete is rescued by Luz, the leader of an immigrant aid organization, and Shé, a skilled agent from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Together, they aim to take down the corrupt network.
As Machete begins his quest for vengeance against those who betrayed him and the corrupt establishment, he employs his unparalleled skills and a variety of makeshift weapons to fight his way through multiple adversaries. With the help of Luz and Shé, Machete uncovers a deeper conspiracy involving a plan to manipulate immigration policy for personal gain. As he battles his way through a web of lies and violence, Machete rallies an army of disgruntled laborers and revolutionists to stand against the looming threat. The story becomes a relentless journey of retribution and justice, set against the backdrop of border politics and social issues, culminating in a climatic showdown between right and wrong.
Writers: Robert Rodriguez, Álvaro Rodríguez
Release Date: 03 Sep 2010
Runtime: 105 min
Rating: R
Country: United States, Germany, United Kingdom
Language: English, Spanish, Hungarian