The Infiltrator (2016)

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  TheMovieDiorama

  6 / 10

  The Infiltrator showcases the dangerous and difficult career of an undercover agent. This film details the true story of drug trafficking and laundering illegal money. Agent Robert Mazur invented a persona with a rich and lavish lifestyle in order to infiltrate Pablo Escobar's trafficking scene which was becoming apparent in 1986. Going deeper and deeper undercover in order to build a case that leads to indictments of more than 100 drug lords. Fascinating, ever so fascinating. What was really profound was the slow build up of trust and admiration between Mazur's cover up character and the drug lords of Colombia. The film portrayed them as normal people, genuine human beings with families. Sure what they were doing was completely illegal and something you shouldn't attempt at home...that something being an illegal drug trafficking scheme, but seeing that trust break at the end was actually melancholic. Captivating dual performances from both Cranston and Leguizamo, I thought they suited their roles incredibly well. Casting the beauty that is Diane Kruger is always great and I thought Benjamin Bratt's performance was noteworthy. The directing style was, on the whole, good. Nothing outstanding but towards the end wedding scene there were some nice long shots which I admired. There are a lot of characters in this story consisting of agents, family members, drug lords and corrupt bankers. It takes quite some time to establish them and get the story flowing, in fact I found the first half to be rather underwhelming. Nothing really engaged me. It's quite a meaty runtime (127 minutes) and honestly this could've been cut substantially. The second half was much better which included more tension and character investment. I also found that scenes just seemed to have been cut, one point we're in a hotel then all of sudden we're in France. Seemed to have been strung together to try and create flow but if anything it just hindered the narrative. However, some great performances and some interesting characters make for a good true story albeit unmemorable.

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