El Chapo

If one compares "El Chapo" head on along with big budget and runaway hits like the Narcos and Narcos: Mexico, El Chapo despite its lower budget and an all Mexican production does very well to hold on its own on several fronts and is in fact is better than Narcos and Narcos: Mexico on certain segments. The biggest strength of El Chapo lies is its solid writing, a screenplay that never deviates even one bit from its storyline whatsoever.

The first season is rock solid and remains totally focused on the raise of Joaquin Guzman. The second season focuses on his taking control of as "The Boss" and the turf wars plaguing within and among the other cartels. The third mainly focuses on a hide and seek game with the government forces and his ultimate arrest. All three seasons also enlightens and gives us great insights on the political system and the corruption that had engulfed Mexico over the decades. Yes, there are several cheesy scenes in second and third seasons on several occasions but the show comes back strongly soon enough and erases the silly effect in our heads with some brilliant follow up scenes every time.

Cinematography is very good right throughout the series and excels in stunt sequences, in fact stunt sequences are a mixed bag owing to a low budget but the DOP covers much of budget concerns with his excellent craft. As said earlier the strongest suit of El Chapo is its screenplay that never deviates from the original storyline, though there are several characters in the series, excellent screenplay makes it very easy to remember them. Editing is excellent as there are almost zero scenes that is not required for the storyline, unlike Narcos or Narcos: Mexico especially. Costumes are in tune with what the cartel members and bosses wear if one googles them, The military costumes were great, though all looked brand new. Production design and casting were par. Makeup is little overdone for the main characters in the 2nd and 3rd seasons. Music is 80% excellent and 20% goofy, the title song is terrific, I never skipped it once in all 35 episodes.

Acting is also a mixed bag in my opinion but very acceptable if one considers the budget and the fact that it was made for Mexican TV. About 6/10 actors were brilliant in their portrayal of their roles, with Humberto Busto delivering a top notch performance portraying Conrado Sol and Marco de la O a distant second playing the lead. On the other hand the actors who played the DEA agents were the worst.

Overall, El Chapo is a must see series for anyone who has seen Narcos and Narcos: Mexico. In fact it's a great follow up, as the series interlaces with the other two series at different time frames. Yes, sadly the making and treatment is not on the league of the other two but the screenplay and editing is definitely better in El Chapo. The series is definitely a gem on its own and will stay in our minds for a long time, if one travels the distance of 35 episodes. 8/10 for first season, 8/10 for second season and 7/10 for the third for an average of 7.3/10 overall.

Viewers need to understand that the things they are watching are mostly real. The ''Emes'' are the Zetas. The Bernal Leyda brothers are the Beltrán Leyva. The Amendaños are the Arellano Félix. And so on. Even Conrado Sol seems to be Genaro García Luna.

The murder of a cardinal in Guadalajara was real. The massacres by the Zetas on innocent people are real. The whole war under president Calderón is real. Basically, every major character and event. Bear that in mind all the time.

Paz para México.

8/10...seems pretty high, doesn't it? For a show that has countless similarities to Narcos, is based on an already told take, and on a platform that isn't new. Well, I'll tell you why, it is because this IS new, for all of Latin America THIS is totally new!

Prior to this Univision has been known for absolutely terrible, terrible programming and this skyrockets them into a whole new nexus of quality programming. As far as the Latin America television options, this is an absolute home run! I couldn't have been more surprised and happy with what they have put out. Several reasons.

So, the show is MUCH better if you know your history surrounding the person, the country, and the drug trade. They changed basically everyone's name except for El Chapo, I am sure to protect themselves from the very real violence they might suffer if they offended the wrong people with their depictions of certain characters.

I.E. The families of "Benjamin and Ramon Arellano Félix" might not like them being depicted as the murderous bastards that they were, so they make their debut as the "Avendaño Brothers" instead. In that respect that have done an incredible job re-naming the characters but still keeping the authenticity of who they are/were.

Also, something that really hasn't been said in anyone's review. They have done an UNBELIEVABLE job with the character design, makeup, wardrobe(especially), and period appropriate set design. The outfits you see these characters wearing are pulled from actual outfits the real people wore, it is incredibly authentic, shockingly so! GOOGLE Ramon Arellano Félix and go to images, you will see pictures of him wearing the shirt they put him in when Do Chapo first goes to their club at the beginning of the series. Just amazing that they payed that kind of attention to detail.

I don't think the people that are bashing the show quite understand the level of history and authenticity that this show has, in that respect, it is 1 and 1 with Narcos. It follows a historical timeline perfectly and for those that are complaining about the bad quality English dubbing.....ALL DUBBING IS BAD QUALITY, OF COURSE THE MOUTHS DON'T MATCH THE WORDS.....HAHAHA WHAT?!?! (Sorry, I was shocked someone actually said that.)

Anyways, watch the show in Spanish. Take the time to read the subtitles and simply enjoy an incredibly authentic depiction of the most notorious criminals on the planet.

I was fascinated with this series and can't wait for the next one. There is definitely room for this story to continue. I think Narcos creates a great background. Wikipedia says the real El Chapo carries the same notoriety as Al Capone, is listed on the Fortune 500 list, and matched the wealth of Pablo Escobar. The series seems to have only started this story and I'm ready for it to continue. Disclaimer- as noted above, the series does depict him as a scary criminal. Not a hero in any way. Yet I admit to being fascinated by the story.

What has struck me the most about this well-acted series is the sense of impending doom under which "El Chapo" lived. He worked hard and ruthlessly as a prolific murderer to become a "Patron" only to find his position always at the edge of a precipice. He is constantly betrayed, undermined, falsely accused (of the Cardinal's murder)and pursued by assassins. His life would make one wonder why anybody would be stupid enough to want his job. There would be a ton of cash but no peace ever in site for such a man or his family. I know of his impoverished upbringing. And that growing and trafficking drugs was the only way to make money in his isolated community. Multiple generations of his family were in the trade as Marijuana and Opium growers. His cousins were in it. He was born into it. But you would think that there would enough examples of how this would not end well for an intelligent man to make the decision to get out. Apparently in El Chapo's position it doesn't matter how smart one is. And you wonder if the lucky ones are not the ones who get killed early in their careers. Instead of living life constantly on the run from everyone and under daily mental suffering. This is a tale of some one willingly allowing himself to be sucked into an abyss. He had to know that if they didn't take his life, they would still take everything else. And they did. What you might question is the mentality of some one who continues going down that road despite knowing what lies at the end. And I also must question the mentality of a popular sub-culture in Mexico that worships and admires these "Narcos." They write songs about them. Do they not have eyes to see what happens to these people? El Chapo's life was not a pleasant one.