Infiltrator

I had been waiting to watch this movie for some time so when I finally did I was really stoked to check it out. Bryan Cranston in the movie definitely peaked my interest as he did a really great job in Breaking Bad. Let me start by saying I thought the production value of this movie was excellent. The retro vibe in the movie really helps sell it and in some sense is almost comical. Those huge 80s cell phones, the awkward 80s clothes, it really helps sell this movie and create a nice vibe. However past that there really seems to be something missing from this movie. The first part of it starts out rather well. For the most part in the beginning of the movie the acting is done well and the story seems to move along at a decent pace. However toward the last 1/3 of the move it really seems like we are simply going through motions from A to B to C. And while they are able to sell some thing to the viewer in the movie, a good deal of what they were hoping for seems to be lacking. They really try to sell this idea that the main characters get caught up and attached vibe in the last 1/3 of the movie. However neither the script nor the acting really pulls that off. You never really have this sense that he is sucked in and almost guilty for being an agent. They try hard to sell it in the script but the emotional attachment simply wasn't there. There is a line at the end of the movie that really makes the failure stand out as one character says "none of your real friends went to jail today" But at no time was there any real belief that any sort of real relationship developed. Which leaves the viewer with the reality that the whole movie is just a string of scenes from A to Z but no dynamic or character development. There are two kinds of scenes in a movie. The 1st kind moves the movie forward. The second kind tells us something important about a character. There is plenty of the 1st kind in this movie. The second kind really seems to be lacking. For that reason I gave the movie a 7/10. It's an interesting story and going from point A to point Z will keep you entertained. But after watching it you will realize nothing really memorable happened in the movie and that it was just kind of a bland movie.

Bryan Cranston is not your typical movie star, although he seems like it. Underneath the cool-high-school-dad exterior, there's an actor of great depth and unexpected power. You'll know it when you see a scene involving his character, said character's wife, and a restaurant on their anniversary dinner. Cranston seems to have benefited during his years as Walter 'Heisenberg' White on TV's Breaking Bad. And it has contributed greatly in this biographical crime thriller, about as straightforward and predictable as a stab in the gut.

Yes, Brad Furman's (The Lincoln Lawyer, Runner Runner) directorial efforts here will not be known for their signature riffs, as there is none to speak of. It's standard thriller fare, the kind that would do well had it been released between the late 1980s and early 1990s; pure genre fare that caters to mostly adult film-goers that aren't interested in seeing computer-generated superpowers or rubble. In other words, unoriginal yet mature, grown-up stuff.

The Infiltrator, however, is textbook example of how great casting can elevate shopworn genre material into solid entertainment, as the always-reliable Cranston has proved here. Sure, he is strongly supported by a bevy of intriguing cast members including Benjamin Bratt, John Leguizamo and the lovely Diane Kruger; but in portraying real-life undercover agent Robert Mazur shimmying his way up through Pablo Escobar's criminal empire, Cranston's understated but strong everyman presence confidently carries the movie solely. That quality alone replaces the tediousness often found in similar true-crime movies with an intense amount of uneasy suspense and grounded credibility, providing lots of fun for Cranston fans as long as they do not expect anything groundbreaking.

Breaking Good, indeed.

Bryan Cranston is Robert Mazur, the real life undercover man whose work in the 1980s connected the dots on the Sinaloa cartel and the international banks. Cranston is excellent.

The movie is suspenseful, with good performances by Amy Ryan, Benjamin Bratt and, g*d help us, John Leguizamo, with a very small and funny role for Olympia Dukakis. I have my doubts; given the fighting-the-drug-cartels movies that have been coming out in the last few years, I think the subgenre has been getting played out. I still had a very good time.

I heard grumblings from two guys who were leaving the theater behind me after seeing THE INFILTRATOR that this movie did not have nearly enough action/bloodshed for them. I think they were expecting another SCARFACE or GOODFELLAS. That is not what this movie is. This movie is a character study of a man who goes undercover with the Pablo Escobar drug cartel and develops relationships/friendships with these bad guys in order to bring them down. The real conflict in this film is not the action, but rather, the RE-ACTION of "the infiltrator" - will he remember that he is just playing a role to bring down the bad guys, or will he lose himself in the role and the relationships and become a bad guy himself?

If you are looking for an action movie, this movie will be a little too slow for you. If you are looking for good acting and a strong character study, then this is a very enjoyable film.

Much of that enjoyment hinges on the performance of Bryan Cranston as Robert Mazur, "The Infiltrator". We follow him as he dives deep into this criminal organization. Cranston is in about 90% of the scenes of this movie, so his performance better be strong or this will be one long movie, indeed. Fortunately for us, his performance is better than strong. He continues his string of fascinating/watchable performances and he more than anchors this film and makes it worth watching.

Ably assisting him is a strong supporting cast - Amy Ryan (as his boss), Jason Issaacs (somewhat wasted as the District Attorney), Benjamin Bratt (as one of the main bad guys), Olympia Dukakis (in a fun turn as his aunt) and Diane Kruger (defying age as another agent posing as his fiancé - when I first saw her I thought "that's a young Diane Kruger" until I realized it WAS Diane Kruger!). Finally, John Leguizamo as Mazur's partner, Emir Abreu is TERRIFIC. The best performance I've seen from him in quite some time. If this movie was a little better and a little later in the season, I'd be touting him for an Academy Award nomination.

If you want blood, guts and action, wait for the Jason Bourne film. If you want an interesting, gripping film that is well acted check out the Infiltrator - you'll be glad you did!

7 (out of 10 stars) and you can take that to the Bank (of Marquis)

The Infiltrator

In some ways this might seem like a straight up crime and drugs movie, with Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston in the leading role. But these true events and actual characters take you to the top of a government effort to undercut the money laundering operations of the biggest cartel of all.

And Cranston is great. Around him is a really strong cast, including some disreputable types from all around. The pressures are huge, and the tension believable as people question who they can trust. Because to go undercover requires people helping you keep your cover, and that's increasingly hard because the money, and the low price of a life, are constant pressures.

The movie is based in Florida in the 1980s, and it's a weird place to revisit. Diane Kruger is a great, relaxed presence once she shows up, and John Leguizamo is terrific as a sidekick, essential to the energy of the film.

There some problems, for sure, with compacting the plot or characterizing Escobar. Or making the private life of the main agent so easily intertwined with the undercover world—they should be states apart.

But never mind the quibbles. A strong, commanding movie.