Robert Rodriguez makes fast, unruly genre films with the practical ingenuity of someone used to doing several jobs himself. We enjoy his inventiveness, though the action can lose its hold once the people stop being interesting.
Fi1m perspective
In From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), Robert Rodriguez cuts the violence fast enough to keep it entertaining after it has stopped being surprising. He is his own editor here, and the speed comes with a knack for finding another way to stage an outrage. We rate him as an inventive genre director whose films work best when the actors give us something to care about between the attacks. George Clooney does that job here.
The working method was already there in El Mariachi (1992), which he wrote, directed, produced and edited. Desperado (1995) followed, and he later completed the Mexico Trilogy with Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003). Across his work, Rodriguez has also taken on photography, music and visual effects, so the quick cuts and rushing camera belong to someone accustomed to making decisions across departments. There is pleasure in watching that practical ingenuity, even when the story needs more attention.
Quentin Tarantino’s screenplay for From Dusk Till Dawn gives him a useful starting point: criminals, hostages and conversations that hold our interest without constant action. Clooney’s Seth Gecko gives the film authority, while Graeme Revell’s music helps make the mayhem entertaining, though the actors supply more personality. We grew restless as the violence multiplied, because the earlier hostage-taking had been more tense. Rodriguez handles the change of direction confidently, but some of the gross-out humour keeps asking us to be delighted that somebody might be offended.
With Spy Kids (2001), he turned that inventiveness towards family adventure and began a franchise. He co-directed the comic-book adaptation Sin City (2005) with Frank Miller, applying his interest in stylised images to the look of the source. Alita: Battle Angel (2019), made with producer James Cameron, took him into effects-led science fiction. These changes of audience and material make it difficult to dismiss him as a director with only one trick.
The limitation is clear enough in From Dusk Till Dawn: another inventive burst of action cannot always replace the tension that preceded it. Yet its unevenness does not cancel the grubby fun, particularly when Clooney is on screen. Start there if crime and horror appeal, but not with anyone squeamish.
Biography
Robert Anthony Rodriguez is an American filmmaker, director, producer, writer, composer and visual effects supervisor. He was born on 20 June 1968 in San Antonio, Texas.
Rodriguez directed El Mariachi (1992), which he also produced, wrote, shot and edited on a low budget. The film led to the Mexico Trilogy with Desperado (1995) and Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003). He created the Spy Kids franchise, beginning with the 2001 film, and directed From Dusk till Dawn (1996), Sin City (2005) and Alita: Battle Angel (2019).
Rodriguez has frequently collaborated with Quentin Tarantino. He produced Death Proof (2007) and composed music for Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004). He is also known for Planet Terror (2007), Machete (2010) and directing episodes of The Mandalorian (2019) and The Book of Boba Fett (2021).
