Planet Terror

Filmed with love, humor, irony, detachment, and above all, joy. With every other shot, I had the image of an enthusiastic Robert Rodriguez bouncing around behind the camera and looking forward to the next take. And yet it occurred to me too often that the days when Robert was able to restrain his ideas and give them a form that didn't elicit protests of overcomplication and lack of taste were long gone. Yes, you can enjoy Planet Terror without necessarily liking it. It flies by, Bruce Willis occasionally takes a breather, Naveen Andrews delivers a great performance, and Freddy Rodriguez shoots so much it will make your head spin. Add to that perfect scenes like "the most badass character in the whole movie riding a children's motorcycle," and you'll find that the plot just doesn't stop. But it's a splatter film. And with that comes blood, slime, corpses, blisters, more slime, repulsiveness, twistedness, and an extra dose of slime on top of that. And that manages to bring down the entertaining ride to the level of a slightly below-average (albeit perfectly fast-paced) one-time viewing. (11/02/2008)

I don't know, I've never been into these cheap, gory B-movies where quantity clearly wins over quality. And this is no exception. Yes, it's a trash movie. Yes, it was made by Robert Rodriguez. But it seems to me that these arguments are just being used by most to rationalise their five stars  in this shitfest that doesn't even deserve an average rating. Fortunately, the film at least has a basic template to stick to, pretty much okay characters, and most importantly a parodic undertone where it doesn't take itself seriously, so it was watchable. But I was expecting something completely different... (05/01/2023)

Unbelievable as it may seem, Rodriguez's cinematic knowledge trumps even Tarantino's, and his Planet Terror is an absolutely perfect concentration of genre deviations, quirks, and flaws. The only person who can search for a more meaningful plot is someone who abhors the trash aesthetic or has never tried it on his own spectator senses. This is the most daring film of the year, which piles one idea after another, culminating in Rose McGowan, whom I hereby dub the hottest tigress of this film season, and Rodriguez the bravest freak who is bothered by absolutely nothing (the deaths of animals or children). I want Machete immediately, or Grindhouse II! (21/10/2007)

Robert Rodriguez is back just how I like him best. And about time, after the childish Spy Kids and the heavily narrative Sin City. Planet Terror has balls. Bloated zombies, guys with snappy lines and action that I have thirsted for ever since I saw Desperado for the first time. The cast is also excellent. A bad-guy Bruce Willis, the ravishing Rose McGowan and tough guy Freddy Rodriguez who came across in an even better light than he did in Harsh Times and I predict a promising future for him. Thorough-bred entertainment which will please Grindhouse fans much more than Tarantino’s piece. (05/10/2007)

Where Robert Rodriguez loses out to Quentin in terms of filmmaking, inventiveness, polished style, and form in general, he paradoxically gains in fun precisely because, unlike his colleague, he does not attempt to squeeze “that little bit more" from this genre than it has to offer. This is just a dumb D-movie, and it’s well aware of that, and thanks to exaggeration and reasonable duration it manages to entertain the entire time. (15/07/2007)