Review of The Infiltrator (2016) by Rosemarie T — 14 Jul 2016
Hombres y banditos muy loco. This is first rate fun as we ride with undercover US Customs agent Bob Mazur, who becomes Bob Musilla. As played by Brian (Walter White) Cranston, he submerges himself into the lower branches of the Medellin Cartel.
His eye is on the prize of Pablo Escobar as Bob climbs the ladder of the cold blooded cartel in its many forms. John Leguizamo is terrific as his bilingual partner and the two could not be more different.
They really rub each other the wrong way from the beginning. Bob is a Jekyl and Hyde as he is a ruthless money launderer while undercover and then goes home to a silently suffering wife and two great young children.
Amy Ryan is his ball busting boss and Diane Kruger is surprisingly effective as his fiance who is also undercover. The various enforcers, runners, hitmen and security posse are all cast with care and they are very believable as being capable of explosive violence while laughing out loud.
Almost never without his briefcase that has a hidden recorder, Bob is almost found out and escapes only by the good fortune of a stray bullet for the crook who could blow his entire undercover operation.
The saturated colors of Miami Vice repeat here and the production design is spot on with the bright pastels of a low brow motel with a deck of pool furniture. Cranston and Leguizamo really sell their parts.
Yul Vazquez is creepy slimy good as a bisexual, actually try-anything sexual cartel underling and Olympis Dukakis is a delight as Bob's aunt Vicky who pours on the over the top Leona Hemsley stinking rich vulgar owner of Park Avenue role to great effect.
With all the CGI driven fare and the endless reboots and sequels, this fact based true story is worth seeing.
This review of The Infiltrator (2016) was written by Rosemarie T on 14 Jul 2016.
The Infiltrator has generally received positive reviews.
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