I think Danny Trejo may have Nicolas Cage syndrome. Nic Cage
Syndrome is where an actor that has proven he can carry blockbuster films still
takes any crap role that shows up in his inbox. Mr. Trejo, you are Machete for
Christ sake. Stop doing these awful
movies.
The Contractor is your typical
worker with an axe to grind picture. We meet the bland Chase family consisting
of lawyer dad, sickly teenage sprite and frigid bitch mom. They need the
kitchen remodeled quickly in time for a big fundraiser. But of course Daddy
Dearest is a cheapskate looking for the lowest bidder, enter Danny Trejo.
I get it, we need a convenient
reason for Danny Trejo's character to be present in this movie. But the reason
is totally convoluted and is out of character for the father. This is a guy who
just bought this ridiculously swank mansion and on a whim bought his daughter a
horse. We're supposed to buy this cheapskate routine?
This movie proceeds strictly by
numbers. Danny charms the pants off the family, frigid bitch gets uncomfortable
with him and has him fired, and of course it turns out that the beloved
contractor has a personal vendetta against Daddy Dearest. You could see this
coming before the opening credits finish rolling.
Danny Trejo is a bad ass; he
has played killers, gangsters, and mercenaries. You have seen him fight
vampires and zombies. And we're supposed to believe that a trio of suburban
dumb asses can best him in a fight to the death?
Another thing that really irked me
about this movie was a major plot hole concerning the teenage daughter. She has
asthma, very bad asthma, and this fact that is touted constantly throughout the
film. The fundraiser is for an asthma wing at the hospital. The daughter is
reminded to bring her back up inhaler while going on a trip. The girl's angry
boyfriend drives off with her stuff including her inhalers.
One would assume that a convenient
asthma attack would ensue while she and her mom are running for their lives.
Nope, it never comes up and is pretty much forgotten.
I would only recommend this movie
to hard core Trejo fans and even so I would do it very reluctantly. And since
this is the second Trejo film that I have hated, Machete 2 better be fucking
awesome.
