Once again, a movie with intense action and gorgeous women tucks away a bad script and an even worse movie.

Aside from the poorly written script, “Once Upon a Time in Mexico” is an action film staged behind an explosion of gunfire.

“Are you a Mexican, or a Mexican’t?”

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Surprisingly, this was not a rhetorical question. However, it is one of the lamest lines in movie history.

Equivalent to an old western shoot out with high-tech stunts, this movie is sure to make you want to jump into the movie and hit someone — preferably the director.

CIA Agent Sands (Johnny Depp) hires El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas) and a retired law enforcer to kill a hit man with plans to assassinate Mexico’s president.

Stupid humor and excess violence, typically known for blockbuster bombs, are devices used to persuade Sands’ undercover team to bring the kingpin down.

As easy as it may sound, several plot twists and plot turns ensure a difficult task for Sands and his henchmen.

El Mariachi plays quick draw with a combination gun and guitar while agent Sands distracts random and selected people with his fake arm while blasting them with his real one.

While agent Sands’ mission seems clear, it gets muddled by El Mariachi’s confusing hallucinogenic dreams.

An ensemble cast including Latin bombshells Carolina (Salma Hayek) and Ajedrez (Eva Mendez) add a slice of estrogen to the film’s testosterone pie.

Vivid colors and close-ups make the picture a masterpiece of cinematography.

However, bright colors, shootouts and sexy actors and actresses have to overcompensate too much for such a weak script.

“Once Upon a Time in Mexico” has amazing knock-down, drag-out brawls, sexy men and women and enough violence to waste Iraq, again. Yet for all this hard money well spent, “Once Upon a Time in Mexico” is more like “Once Upon a Time in Bad Moving Making.”