Director: Brad Furman.
Starring: Bryan Cranston, John Leguizamo, Benjamin Bratt, Diane Kruger, Joseph Gilgun, Jason Isaacs, Tim Dutton, Daniel Mays, Andy Beckwith, Art Malik, Saïd Taghmaoui, Michael Paré, Olympia Dukakis.
Brad Furman directs a biographical account of U.S. Customs official Robert 'Bobby' Mazur on his war against drug cartel directly connected to Pablo Escobar. Breaking Bad super star Bryan Cranston plays Bobby, the undercover agent risking his retirement on one final bust, one of the largest in U.S. Customs history.
We follow him going deep cover making friends with all the wrong kind of people creating a suspenseful atmosphere, however this isn't The Departed level of tense, not even Donnie Brasco, but there's plenty of close-calls and shocking incidents to keep you intrigued. We witness the inner conflict, the guilt of betrayal and the dangers and brutality one would face doing such a job.
The films has two of my favourite co-stars, John Leguizamo, who is great as the very talented but equally obnoxious undercover lead and Benjamin Bratt as cartel money man, Roberto Alcaino. Bratt appears to age perfectly, becoming quite the distinguished gentleman especially looking back at his younger self in films like Demolition Man and Blood In, Blood Out. The stunning Diane Kruger does great as Bobby's cover fiancé, this surely enhancing her fame.
There's a strong British cast including Brit soap, Emmerdale's Joseph Gilgun, Jason Isaacs, Tim Dutton, Daniel Mays and Snatch's heavy, Andy Beckwith. Also among the casting is True Lies bad guy Ark Malik playing banker along with Saïd Taghmaoui and B-Movie star Michael Paré. Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis ironically gives an "Oscar winning performance" as a shill to the whole operation.
A good mixture on the soundtrack but an unnoticeable score from Chris Hajian with iconic tracks from Curtis Mayfield, The Who and Leonard Cohen's Everybody Knows. The production of the film is very good from the locations, lighting being purposefully hazy and the costumes are on point.
Like Furman's previous films, Runner Runner and The Lincoln Lawyer, it's hits just above average, not being a bad film but not a great film either. It's entertaining enough and there's some great cinematography, especially the long take at the conclusion which posed as a recap for the story's key characters.
Though the film is superbly shot, I feel it loses it's focus, are we suppose to sympathise with the cartel? And though tense in parts, it loses it's impact very quickly, even for 127min running time, which fortunately, doesn't drag and moves at a steady pace.
It's a glossy, slick and captivating thriller with all round good performances and sharp editing/directing. But as said before, it lacks the emotional impact to have any lasting affect.
Running Time: 8
The Cast: 8
Performance: 8
Direction: 9
Story: 9
Script: 8
Creativity: 9
Soundtrack: 5
Job Description: 5
The Extra Bonus Point: 0
69% 7/10
