10.Once Upon a Time in Mexico(2003)
Once Upon a Time in Mexicois the final part of Rodriguez’sMexicotrilogy, concluding the journey of El Mariachi (played by Antonio Banderas).
After his wife Carolina (played by Salma Hayek) and their daughter are killed, CIA agent Sheldon Sands (played by Johnny Depp) pulls him back into action to help him stop a corrupt general.
All of the ingredients and flair of the Mariachi movies are still here, though not as fresh the third time around. Depp definitely adds his unique charm to his ambiguous character, standing out the most. Overall, the film is a great finale to the series.
9.Alita: Battle Angel(2019)
Based on the Yukito Kishiro manga series and its anime adaptation,Alita: Battle Angelmarks a return to form for Rodriguez after a series of flops.
The film follows a cyborg named Alita (played by Rosa Salazar) who is revived by Dr. Dyson Ido (played by Christoph Waltz) and sets out to mark her own destiny.
While not the most groundbreaking manga,Battle Angel Alita(originally titledGunnm) has a compelling story in Alita. It was stuck in development hell for years, but Rodriguez eventually brought the story to life with his own visual flair (even down to Alita’s eyes).
8.Machete(2010)
Isador “Machete” Cortez was a standout character in theSpy Kidsmovies, and he remains Danny Trejo’s most memorable character.
Giving him a fake trailer inGrindhouseonly proved that Machete was ready for his own solo movie—and lo and behold, we got this glorious exploitation movie that shows Trejo’s gritty awesomeness.
Following the same gritty B-movie style asGrindhouse,Macheteputs the former assassin in a revenge streak after his boss frames him for a crime he didn’t commit.
Rodriguez loves the hallmarks of the genre and he paid homage to all of them here, with everyone in the cast joyfully going along.
7.Planet Terror(2007)
AfterGrindhouse, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino teamed up for a double feature: Tarantino directed the dark thrillerDeath Proofwhile Rodriguez created the sci-fi thrillerPlanet Terror.
Planet Terroris set during a biochemical outbreak, centering on a group of survivors who battle zombie-like creatures and rogue soldiers.
Rodriguez blends two genres—zombie thriller and feminist action—into one fun grindhouse throwback, with most of the fun coming from Rose McGowan, who elevates her part as she goes through a significant transformation.
Related:Why Zombie Movies Aren’t Zombie Movies Anymore
6.Desperado(1995)
Desperadosees Antonio Banderas taking the mantle of El Mariachi and making it his own.
Following the events of the first movie, the guitarist-turned-killer arrives in a town where the drug lord Bucho resides—the same drug lord who killed his lover. While there, El Mariachi becomes embroiled and must outwit them to survive.
WithDesperado, Rodriguez applied everything he learned fromEl Mariachiand doubled the action and doubled the Western homages. Thanks to Banderas’s charm and his chemistry with Salma Hayek,Desperadois one cool Western that is escapist cinema.
5.Spy Kids(2001)
Did you know Robert Rodriguez stepped away from his usual genre flicks and made family-friendly films from time to time? Some were good (likeWe Can Be Heroes), some were bad (likeShorts), but one of them led to his most successful franchise:Spy Kids.
Spy Kidscenters on Carmen and Juni, who discover that their parents are actually spies. When their parents are captured, the two must step up and do what they can to rescue them.
ThroughSpy Kids, Rodriguez made a kids' version of theJames Bondfranchise, complete with gadgets, villains, lairs, and everything. The result is an unapologetic film with tongue-in-cheek spy elements and lots of fun action. (Just forget the fourth movie.)
4.The Faculty(1998)
Robert Rodriguez’s first sci-fi horror film wasThe Faculty, which was his own take onInvasion of the Body Snatchersmixed with the usual trope of horror movies centering on teen protagonists.
From the title, you might be able to guess the premise ofThe Faculty: a group of misfit teenagers uncover a dangerous secret about their school teachers, which happens to involve an invasion plot.
While the movie’s elements are nothing new, the thrill comes from its tremendous young cast and their rapport (effectively crafted byScreamwriter Kevin Williamson). The result is a tense high school thriller that makes for great B-movie fun.
3.From Dusk Till Dawn(1996)
Looking at his filmography, it would appear that Robert Rodriguez is a natural when it comes to cult movie sensibilities. That’s most apparent in the vampire filmFrom Dusk Till Dawn.
From Dusk Till Dawnsuccessfully combines the best ingredients of a cult movie and blends two genres—Western and vampire horror—to result in lots of campy fun between gory shootouts.
George Clooney’s Seth Gecko and Tarantino’s Richie Gecko are fun characters to follow through their pulpy and violent adventure, and Salma Hayek as Santanico Pandemonium is a scene stealer.
2.El Mariachi(1992)
After the success of his short filmBedhead, Robert Rodriguez wanted to venture into feature-length projects. With funding from a friend, he madeEl Mariachion a $7,000 budget to cater to the Spanish home video market, but Columbia Pictures saw potential.
El Mariachifollows the titular hero, a Mexican guitarist who’s mistaken by a local gang for a dangerous criminal. Thus, the traveling mariachi must wield a gun to overcome them.
Despite its simple premise and self-contained setting,El Mariachibrings the best elements of Westerns and twists them in a new way. With his “one-man film crew” skills, Rodriguez largely excelled.
Related:The Best Indie Movies of the 1990s
1.Sin City(2005)
The world of Frank Miller’sSin Cityis dense, seedy, and violent. It needed a filmmaker like Rodriguez to bring its stories to life.
This neo-noir crime anthology features three stories: “The Hard Goodbye,” “The Big Fat Kill,” and “That Yellow Bastard.”
“The Hard Goodbye” brings the best of Mickey Rourke as Marv. “Big Fat Kill” shows the bloody conclusion of a street war. And “That Yellow Bastard” has a violent scene with Bruce Willis’s detective. Each story is packed with a sense of grit.
Rodriguez stayed faithful to Miller’s source material, even going as far as sticking to its black-and-white color palette and mirroring scenes to Miller’s detailed comic illustrations. It’s one of the greatest and most faithful adaptations of a graphic novel into film.
Read next:The Best Anthology Movies of All Time
