ⓘ Details

Movie TitleOnce Upon a Time in Mexico

Release DateSeptember 12, 2003 in the United States

TaglineThe time has come.

Runtime102 minutes / 1 hour 42 minutes

DirectorRobert Rodriguez

Screenplay Written ByRobert Rodriguez

Based OnCharacters and story world from Robert Rodriguez’s El Mariachi and Desperado

Is It a Remake?No. It is the third film in Robert Rodriguez’s Mexico Trilogy, following El Mariachi and Desperado.

BudgetApproximately $29 million

Box OfficeApprox. $56.4 million domestic / approx. $98.8 million worldwide

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👥 Main Cast

Antonio BanderasEl Mariachi

Johnny DeppAgent Sands

Salma HayekCarolina

Willem DafoeBarillo

Mickey RourkeBilly

Eva MendesAjedrez

Danny TrejoCucuy

Enrique IglesiasLorenzo

Marco LeonardiFideo

Cheech MarinBelini

Rubén BladesJorge FBI

Gerardo VigilGeneral Emiliano Marquez

Pedro Armendáriz Jr.The President

Julio Oscar MechosoNicholas

Tito LarrivaCab Driver

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🏆 Awards

⭐ Golden Satellite Award Nominee - Best Supporting Actor, Johnny Depp

⭐ Imagen Foundation Award Nominee - Recognition for Latino representation and performers

⭐ No Academy Award nominations were verified for the film.

⭐ No Golden Globe nominations were verified for the film.

⭐ IMDb lists the film with 3 wins and 6 nominations across awards bodies.

⭐ The film’s lasting award is pulpy cult status: a Johnny Depp scene-stealer performance, Rodriguez’s digital filmmaking style, guitar-case guns, and the wildest political action soap opera this side of a mariachi bar fight.

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📖 Short Plot Summary

Years after the events of Desperado, El Mariachi is living in grief and isolation when corrupt CIA agent Sheldon Sands drags him back into action. A plot is unfolding to assassinate the president of Mexico during a coup, with drug lord Barillo and General Marquez tangled in the conspiracy. As Sands manipulates every player he can find, El Mariachi is forced to confront old enemies, lost love, and his own legend while bullets, betrayals, and guitar cases fly in every direction. Once Upon a Time in Mexico is a chaotic, stylish, violent action opera where Robert Rodriguez turns revenge, politics, and mariachi cool into one big cinematic shot of tequila.

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❝ Key Quotes

“Are you a Mexi-can or a Mexi-can’t?” - Agent Sands

“I’m a very good shot.” - El Mariachi

“Restore the balance.” - Agent Sands

“The man is a myth, a legend.” - Belini

“You know, in my line of work, you gotta keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in.” - Agent Sands

“Can you hear me now?” - Agent Sands

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💡 Trivia

Director

Once Upon a Time in Mexico was written, directed, produced, photographed, edited, and scored by Robert Rodriguez.
The film is the third entry in Rodriguez’s Mexico Trilogy, following El Mariachi and Desperado.
Rodriguez designed the movie as a bigger, more sprawling action finale, bringing political conspiracy, revenge tragedy, and pulpy Western flavor into the Mariachi mythos.
The title nods to Sergio Leone-style epic Western naming, especially Once Upon a Time in the West and Once Upon a Time in America.
It is one of those movies where Rodriguez seems to ask, “What if I did every job on the crew and then added more guns?”

Cast / Casting

Antonio Banderas returns as El Mariachi, the guitar-playing gunslinger who began the trilogy’s legend.
Johnny Depp plays CIA agent Sheldon Sands, a manipulative chaos machine who became one of the film’s most talked-about characters.
Salma Hayek returns as Carolina in flashbacks and memory-driven sequences.
Willem Dafoe plays Barillo, the cartel boss connected to the coup plot.
Eva Mendes plays Ajedrez, whose role adds another layer of deception to Sands’ messy little spy game.
Enrique Iglesias and Marco Leonardi join as Lorenzo and Fideo, Mariachi allies who help bring the guitar-case arsenal energy back to the screen.

Soundtrack / Score

Robert Rodriguez composed the film’s score.
The soundtrack also includes contributions and performances connected to the movie’s Latin rock, mariachi, and action-Western flavor.
The music keeps the film tied to the trilogy’s guitar-driven identity while pushing the scale bigger and louder.
Rodriguez’s score mixes action beats, Mexican musical textures, and pulpy tension.
It is the kind of soundtrack that makes every hallway feel like someone is about to kick open a door while carrying either a guitar or a firearm, and possibly both.

Location

The story is set in Mexico during a violent political conspiracy.
Filming took place in Mexico, including locations around San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato.
The film uses plazas, streets, churches, government buildings, and dusty roads to give the story its operatic Mexican Western feel.
The real locations help ground the movie even when the plot is flying off the rails in every possible direction.
Basically, the movie treats Mexico like a giant action stage where every quiet street is just waiting for Robert Rodriguez to start a gunfight.

Behind-The-Scenes

The film was produced by Elizabeth Avellán, Carlos Gallardo, and Robert Rodriguez.
Production companies included Columbia Pictures, Dimension Films, and Troublemaker Studios.
The movie was one of Rodriguez’s early major digital filmmaking efforts, continuing his push toward faster, more flexible production methods.
The reported production budget was approximately $29 million.
The film grossed about $56.4 million domestically and about $98.8 million worldwide.
Rodriguez handled multiple key creative roles himself, including writing, directing, cinematography, editing, and music, because apparently sleep was not part of the production plan.

Nostalgia

Once Upon a Time in Mexico arrived at the height of early-2000s action cool, when stylized gunplay, leather jackets, and twisty crime plots were still running hot.
For fans of Desperado, it brought back El Mariachi on a larger, more chaotic stage.
Johnny Depp’s Sands became a major part of the movie’s cult appeal, often stealing focus from the actual hero.
The movie’s digital look, stunt-heavy gunplay, and comic-book violence make it feel very specific to Rodriguez’s early-2000s creative mode.
It is a messy, energetic action buffet: some revenge, some politics, some spy nonsense, some guitar cases, and a whole lot of “sure, why not?”

Easter Eggs

The movie completes the trilogy that began with El Mariachi, Rodriguez’s ultra-low-budget breakout film.
Carlos Gallardo, who played the original El Mariachi, served as one of the producers.
Cheech Marin returns to the trilogy in a new role after appearing in Desperado.
Danny Trejo, a frequent Rodriguez collaborator, appears as Cucuy.
The guitar-case weapons continue one of the franchise’s most recognizable visual signatures.
The title’s “Once Upon a Time” wording gives El Mariachi’s story a mythic Western tone, like the movie knows it is turning him into legend before he even fires the next shot.

Misc.

Once Upon a Time in Mexico is rated R for strong violence and language.
The movie runs 102 minutes.
The film was released in the United States on September 12, 2003.
Box Office Mojo lists the film’s North American opening weekend at about $23.4 million.
IMDb lists the film with 3 wins and 6 nominations.
Your 3 Guys and a Flick ratings page lists Once Upon a Time in Mexico as Episode 11, with Don rating it 4.75, Ken rating it 2.00, Jon rating it 3.00, and an overall rating of 3.25.

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