A great retelling of a true undercover drama in the 80s

secondtake

score 7/10

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.

secondtake 11 February 2017

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3637867/