9 Milestones in the Evolution of Antonio Banderas
Crazy in Alabama (1999)
After the success of Zorro, Banderas used his newfound power in Hollywood to direct his first feature, a comedy-drama which stars his wife Melanie Griffith as a nutcase who moves to California after decapitating her husband -- all while her nephew in Alabama has to deal with a racially-motivated murder involving a corrupt sheriff. Sounds... fun? OK, it wasn't that fun. Although critics agreed that the project was a technically proficient directorial debut, the film was overall a dud. Banderas would not direct again until 2006's Spanish romance Summer Rain.
Shrek 2 (2004)
The next 10 years would be a franchise bonanza for Banderas. The first franchise that took off was Rodriguez's four-part Spy Kids series, which stars Banderas as a kid-friendly father/retired spy. But then came the DreamWorks smash Shrek. Although Banderas had no part in the first installment, his character of Puss -- who recalls a furry, G-rated Zorro -- was so popular in Shrek 2, that he was called upon for parts in Shrek the Third, Shrek Forever After as well as associated TV shorts and his own video games. Somewhere in the middle of all of those moneymakers, Banderas also found time to reprise his Zorro character for the sequel The Legend of Zorro, which grossed over $140 million.
Puss in Boots (2011)
After amassing a giant pile of money for his franchise work last decade, Banderas kicked off the year by re-teaming with old friend Almodóvar for the haunting thriller The Skin I Live In. He returns to theaters this week as Puss in the DreamWorks spin-off opposite his Desperado co-star Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis and Billy Bob Thornton. If it works out, Puss could have his very own blockbuster series, making Banderas the most well-compensated hairball spitter in cinema history. And if not, the actor will certainly come up with many more milestones to add to his illustrious, intercontinental career.
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Comments
Great compilation. I've been madly in love with Antonio since Desperado. I even went back and watched the original version of that movie made by Rodriguez (I don't remember the name, off-hand - the two side-kicks were the same in both movies). I've seen just about every movie Banderas has been in (some of which weren't mentioned here); but I've always thought for a guy who seems VERY sexy, he wasn't employed as a really romantic action hero very well (except in Desperado). After Desperado he was criticized by a lot of American movie people, who - it seemed to me - were just jealous, but my feeling is that he paid too much attention to the negative remarks. He shouldn't have.
I think I may be the only person in the world who loves Crazy in Alabama. Melanie is super cute in it, the humour is dark, the kids are kid-like and not Hollywood bots.