La Máquina

I just finished watching this with my brother and have to say that I enjoyed La Máquina even more than I expected to. I knew that I would probably like it going in because I'm a sucker for any movie/series that has to do with sports and because it has a fantastic cast. It stars Diego Luna, Gael García Bernal and Eliza Gonzalez. All great actors. It's about an aging boxing star named Esteban "La Máquina" Osuna (Bernal) and his shady manager, Andy (Luna), who gets him one last title shot despite his decline age and having memory problems. But in one of La Máquina first fights his manager made a deal for his opponent to throw the fight, unbeknownst to La Máquina. Now those same shady people who fixed that fight are back and threatening La Máquina to throw the biggest fight of his career. Every episode continues to build suspense to the point where you can't wait to watch the next episode.

La Maquina was absolutely amazing. It's only 6 episodes long so it's an easy binge. Just a warning you're going to want to binge them all in one sitting so give yourself enough time to do that. The cast alone should make you want to watch this. It had 3 top of line actors in Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna and the incredibly beautiful Eiza Gonzalez. Bernal and Luna have worked together several times and you can see the chemistry the two have, this is probably their best work together and that's saying something. I wouldn't be surprised to see this win some awards come award season. It currently has a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes so the critics love it as much as the audience does. I can't believe how few reviews there are. Most of it is in subtitles so that scares away some people. Don't let it though because this series is worth watching, subtitles or not. This series is a nail biter from the very first episode to the last so don't miss it.

The stories of boxers are very worn out, this production does not stand out with anything new, it is more of the old, the strength that the tragic life of a boxer requires is not seen on the screen, it looks stiff and does not embody the essence of what a boxer lives, it is approached superficially.

On the other hand, the story does not contain those twists that catch the viewer, from the beginning you know what the script is about. The absence of drama is evident. The protagonists appear overacted and the conflicts are simple and lack the rough edges that real life presents... If you have nothing better to do you could watch this TV series.

The show tries to be many things. All of which would've made a compelling show had they fleshed them out, or at least just focused on one. The writing fails to turn Diego Luna into the Saul Goodman character they want him to be. The prosthetics are incredibly distracting and add nothing to the story. Gael Garcia sleepwalks through the entirety of his performance. The reporter aspect of the story lacks depth. The show wants to create a sense of tension, but one is never invested in the characters enough to care, and even if somehow you were able achieve the feat of caring about them, the writing does not create the sense of frenzy a show like this requires to build tension.

Is this show a punching bag filled with fluff, or is it solid? ¡Qué lástima! This show is well cast, but it has problematic writing and there are a few large roadblocks. Every few scenes, the puffy lips of DL continue to change. It's understandable in a way because his character is addicted to tweaking his face. But his cosmetic alterations are distracting. Maybe he's supposed to be a cartoon? The production has an upbeat pace and intensity, which works for the most part, but when the two lead actors (GGB and DL) happen to be great friends in real life, it can sometimes work against them. In one scene, their rapport is snappy and slick, and it looks like they could rest on their laurels. Consequently, the supposed tension between their characters comes off as false. I wanted to like this series, but in the end I'm disappointed.