Planet Terror

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. (07/14/2007)

Filmed with love, humor, irony, detachment, and above all, joy. With every other shot, I had the image of an enthusiastic Rodriguez bouncing around behind the camera and looking forward to the next take. However, it occurred to me too often that the times when Robert was able to restrain his ideas and give them a form that didn't require me to protest against 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 that 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) snack. 55% (02/11/2008)

An honourable ruler of trash cinema with a lot of ideas, beautiful girls and a likeable cast, but it’s such bullshit that there’s no way we can fear for the characters and no mentally sane viewer will find anything to relate to in that crazy, impersonal world. Some of the characters are great (in particular the brother duo of the Sheriff and the butcher) and as a homage to trash cinema, the premise was fully exploited, but at the same time, it’s mostly lacking the true cinephile satisfaction and the elegance that was present in its sibling film Death Proof. Rather than to the classics, Rodriguez refers to Tarantino or even himself, creating a thematic world that is entertaining, but hardly acceptable. 70% (04/04/2019)

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. (10/05/2007)

Maybe crazier and more disgusting than the first part, and that's saying something. It is clear what this piece wants to say, so it is basically impossible to describe its qualities, as it is a patchwork of bad movies. But the resulting product is even weirder, bolder, and more interesting, there are no limits or barriers here. Are you a fan? Great, you will have a good time. You aren’t? You will turn it off after five minutes. More likely after ten, because Fergie in white is worth seeing. (07/18/2008)