Johnny Depp is unquestionably the finest actor of his generation.

Also the most underrated and underappreciated. Until now.

With Once Upon a Time in Mexico following fast on the heels of Pirates of the Caribbean, Depp is finally getting the popular attention he deserves.

Robert Rodriguez's hip western Once Upon a Time in Mexico is a giddy delight. It's filled with cartoon violence, spectacular stunts and a dynamite soundtrack.

It has a crackerjack cast in Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Willem Dafoe, Ruben Blades, Eva Mendes and Mickey Rourke all having great fun keeping straight faces amidst all the action, explosions and sly send-ups.

But it is Depp, as the corrupt CIA agent Sands, who steals the movie.

It is a characterization as sweet, charming and witty as his finest. True Sands is a cold-blooded manipulator who values a good meal more than a life, but Depp somehow manages to make him cool and disarming.

The CIA has learned that crime lord Barillo (Dafoe) is planning to assassinate the Mexican president.

A combination of fear and respect by villagers and soldiers alike make it near impossible to get near Barillo, so Sands seeks the help of the legendary gunslinger El Mariachi (Banderas).

He coerces El Mariachi into taking the assignment while hatching another plot to have the avenging angel killed.

The plot keeps getting more twisted and complicated until it's not certain who's working for who, or for what reasons, but allows Rodriquez to stage a chases, explosions and gunfights at regular intervals.

What carries the film, besides Depp's wry and sardonic villain and Rodriguez's technical wizardry, is the film's sense of humour.

The film doesn't take itself seriously and begs its audience not to either.

Banderas manages to make El Mariach almost mythic.

As El Mariachi's wife, Hayek appears only in flashbacks, but she's always as sexy and dangerous as her husband.

Once Upon a Time in Mexico is like an extended music video.

It's gorgeous, sensuous eye candy but often images appear as if for their own sake rather than to actually say anything.

It's a blast, which pretty well sums up the film itself -- a fun ride even if it is all style and no substance.

(This film is rated 18-A)

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