8. Desperado (1995)
If you're a filmmaker struggling to finance your film, you could take a taco out of Robert Rodriguez's lunch and submit to medical trials which is how he financed his ultra-low budget debut, El Mariachi in 1992. The result was a kinetic and stylish action film which launched Rodriguez's career. The sequel cost one thousand times more than the original ($7,000,000) and the money is all on the screen. Huge set pieces, explosive action, cool guns and Salma Hayek stopping traffic all made Desperado incredibly entertaining and fun to watch. Off the success of Desperado, Rodriquez was able to attract an A-list cast for the final film in the trilogy. Johnny Depp, Eva Mendes, Willem Dafoe and Mickey Rourke joined Banderas and Hayek for even more improbable action scenes to round out a fun and entertaining trilogy.
Trilogy Low Point: Once Upon A Time In Mexico. One of the best casts of the last twenty years cant mask a complete lack of logic and coherence.
Did you Know?... The late, great Raul Julia was originally cast as bad guy Bucho but had to pull out due to declining health which, unfortunately, meant his last contribution to Cinema was Streetfighter.