Plot Summary

The final chapter of Robert Rodriguez’s Mexico Trilogy, Once Upon a Time in Mexico follows the legendary guitarist-gunslinger El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas) as he is drawn into a deadly web of political conspiracy, revenge, and corruption.

El Mariachi is on the trail of Barillo (Willem Dafoe), a ruthless crime lord plotting to assassinate the President of Mexico. What begins as a personal vendetta soon escalates into a national crisis, with power struggles unfolding in the shadows of the state.

Complicating matters further is a volatile CIA agent (Johnny Depp), whose unpredictable methods and personal agenda entangle him deeply in the conspiracy. As alliances shift and betrayals multiply, violence erupts across the country, pushing all involved toward an explosive and inevitable showdown.

Stylized, operatic, and relentlessly kinetic, Once Upon a Time in Mexico blends mythic anti-heroism with political intrigue, bringing the saga of El Mariachi to a fiery and unforgettable conclusion.