The Infiltrator Review

The Infiltrator is a true story crime drama about a U.S. Customs special agent that goes undercover to bust the famous drug lord Pablo Escobar. The movie stars Bryan Cranston as Robert Mazur who goes undercover as Bob Musella. Musella is a businessman that helps launder money for Pablo Escobar's drug organization. The movie also stars John Leguizamo as Emir Abreu, who goes undercover with Mazur, and Benjamin Bratt as Roberto Alcaino, a man who is high up in Escobar's organization that Musella becomes close friends with.

This movie is pretty simple so there isn't much to say about the plot. Most of it we have all seen before in other movies, just with new names and faces. Luckily for this movie, the actors in this movie make it watchable. Bryan Cranston was a joy to watch whenever he was on screen. He is believable as this special agent that must go through some dangerous situations while interacting with the drugs lords. You feel his pain and anguish as he as to juggle his family life along with the drug life. He is a likable guy, so you can believe that those in the drug organization would let him in without asking too many questions. John Lequizamo was also great in this movie. His character was the complete opposite of Cranston's. He doesn't always play by the rules, likes to have a little fun and sometimes trusts people he shouldn't. Lequizamo brings this energy to the movie that at times is very serious.

The Infiltrator mainly deals with the money side of the drug world, because of that, it can be pretty boring at times. It deals a lot with transferring money from one bank to another or from one business to another. For me that wasn't that interesting. I would have like to see more of the transferring of drugs and learning how it got into the U.S. rather than just money transferring hands electronically. I've always heard Pablo Escobar is a legendary drug lord and it would have been nice to spend more time with him rather than those a little bit lower on the ladder. I have not seen Narcos on Netflix, but I have a feeling this could be an interesting companion piece to that tv show. 

The Infiltrator has a decent story that can be interesting at times but the performances are what make this movie watchable. Bryan Cranston is great like always. If this movie seems like it would be interesting to you, I would say watch it at home when you can rent it in a few months.