Pablo Escobar: El Patrón del Mal

Pablo Escobar: El Patrón del Mal is an ambitious and largely successful undertaking to portray the man who held the country of Colombia in his tyrannical grip (by the proverbial cojones) for more than a decade. The epic series (73 episodes on Netflix) details the damage and heartbreak this man left in his wake. The story of Pablo Escobar is nothing if not unbelievable, and this expansive production manages to explain the seemingly inexplicable, how a single person could essentially take over a country, corrupting countless individuals through the imposition of a ruthless ¨plata o plomo¨ (money or bullets) ultimatum at every stratum of his society.

The series is not perfect--the jarringly repetitive music riffs preceding every single pursuit scene, the sometimes bizarrely abrupt casting changes from one episode to another (the radical transformations of the wife, Paty, and the son, Emilio, were especially puzzling), and the excessive, overwrought sentimentality in the aftermath of some of the atrocities can all be criticized with good reason.

That said, the overall production is a success because the acting is very, very good, and the writers and director accomplished what they set out to do: to tell a story which needed to be told, and to do so convincingly, complete with historical film clips inserted where available to document that this is not a tale of fantasy. The series was so gripping that I watched six episodes a night continuously until I finished, exhausted by the ordeal.

I was especially impressed by the ability of the lead actor (Andrés Parra) to portray how it was that Escobar was both loved and feared to such an extent. His rise, fall and ultimate unraveling were very well paced, and the acting was perfect. Other standout performances were those of El Chile, El Topo, Fabio, Marino, Pedro Motoa, El Mariachi, Marcos Herbert, Gonzalo, Cain, Kiki... the list goes on and on.

I highly recommend this series to anyone with an interest in the history of Colombia, the cocaine trade, or organized crime more generally. All of the dialogue is in very clearly articulated Spanish, so it is linguistically worthwhile for anyone who speaks Spanish as a second language. (There are subtitles in various languages, too, so the production is accessible to non-Spanish speakers as well.) Anyone who is interested in the nature of corruption should not miss this series.

When compared with Narcos, the low budget is very visible in the production standards -- but the detailed script overrides the other flaws. Outstanding attempt.

I marathon-watched this vastly ambitious project, watching 3-4 episodes a day. Caracol television aired as many as 113 episodes, although Netflix cut it down to 74. I assume that it's the same amount of film, but without the commercial breaks they could make the episodes longer on Netflix. I hadn't planned to see the whole thing as fast as I did but the fact that I did can only add to the praise I have for it.

In spite of its flaws this is easily the biggest and best production ever from Colombia. It is not perfect, but I have no idea how a perfect show would deal with this material in a coherent and responsible way. These are real people we're talking about, how do you make it entertaining and pay respect to the victims at the same time?

There are several moments where you feel that the show idolizes Escobar, (a rare feeling since family members of his victims were involved in the production) but as his killings and terrorism escalates you feel that it somehow recovers in the end, and makes a more ethical portrayal of the events and the awful damage this monster made on Colombia.

While the show Narcos focuses on the DEA's participation in the manhunt, this show focuses mainly on the efforts of the Colombian Police and Military. But the truth is that this was Colombias ordeal much more than it was USA's. The terror and insecurity. Knowing that anybody who did the right thing, testified against the cartel or disagreed with their actions could easily be eliminated. And that no one could guarantee their safety.

In the end the DEA helped Colombia much more than they helped USA. They came to hunt down a drug-dealer when in reality the trafficking of drugs was the least of his crimes. Colombia was much more hurt by the terrorist, kidnapper and killer Escobar, than the drug trafficker.

Without the threat of extradition this man could've bought, threatened, forced and manipulated his way into becoming the nations leader. There is no way a prison in Colombia could keep this criminal behind bars and isolate him from the Colombian society.

I think the two shows Patron del mal and Narcos complete each other, even if "Patron" is infinitely better. Without the success of "el patron del mal" they probably wouldn't create "Narcos". And without the international success of "Narcos" to the English speaking audience, "el patron" wouldn't wake up curiosity and reach an audience outside Latin America.

I rate the show highly even if it has a telenovela-feel at times, many great actors, apart from Escobar himself, the portrayals of his family, crew and most known victims such as Galan and Cano.

The casting is excellent most of the time with actors who physically are mirror images of the real people. In the smaller roles and in the action sequences you can see the shows flaws, but it's forgivable.

The shows theme is catchy with tasteful lyrics, once again trying to pay tribute to the victims to compensate any moments of admiration it may have shown to this Criminal.

All in all the soundtrack is good but some songs too repetitive. This show was controversial in Colombia and rightfully so.

However it's highly watchable and recommended.

It is a great series! Love the casting. All the actors have done a great job! El Chili grows up on you- my favourite!

As a fan of all the Narcos series I was happy to see this turn up on my stream, hungry for more of the intrigue and shoot em up action. But I soon realized this take on Escobar was a far cry from those glamorous romanticized versions with their Sopranos-like anti-heros - the main character of this show is an unrepentant scumbag, with more revolting warts than endearing dimples.

The early episodes had me questioning the casting of the lead. The character was a dumpy schlub, too stupid and crass to emerge as a powerful leader. But as the series unfolded the actor proved a superb choice, evolving seamlessly into a canny take-charge capo and eventually a cold-blooded sociopathic tyrant. It's a brilliant performance, of a character with very little charm who nevertheless commands your attention.

While there's plenty of violence throughout, it's rarely the exciting give-and-take gun battles of the Narcos shows, but rather savage murders and bombings aimed at defenseless politicians and journalists and other declared enemies of the Medellin cartel. And there's no clever adversary playing cat and mouse games with Escobar - the personal thorn in his side is his wife, a strong-willed character every bit as conflicted as Carmella Soprano, torn between her conscience and her lifestyle.

At times the series dips a toe into telenovela territory, with maudlin montages as characters reflect on memories of their recently assassinated loved ones, but these are few and far between (and easily zipped through on fast forward, without losing any of the story.)

There is also real news footage, generally of the aftermaths of bombings or assassinations, which is noticeable but works well in the context of the show.

Another big difference from the Narcos shows is the depiction of the Colombian law enforcement and political establishments, with much less focus on the corrupt officials in Escobar's pocket and more on the heroic idealists who opposed him. (Understandable, since some of the producers had personal ties to those opponents.)

Overall, the production values, like the casting, is excellent. The settings and costumes are somewhat more realistic and down-to-earth than those of the Narcos shows, reflecting Escober's lower class tastes.

Warning though, if you get hooked: with several dozen episodes, this will keep you binging for weeks.