FilmSnobReviews

Title: The Infiltrator
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Brad Furman
Starring: Bryan Cranston, John Leguizamo, Diane Kruger
Runtime: 2 hr 7 mins

What It Is: In the 1980’s as President Reagan’s “War on Drugs” is in full swing and government agent Bob Mazur (Cranston) is deep undercover as money launderer “Bob Muscella”. His mission is to try and bring down the big wigs in the Columbian cartel. As he goes undercover he’ll do so with fellow agent Emir Abreu (Leguizamo) and his “fiance” Kathy Ertz (Kruger). With his trap set and the web weaved now he must play the game for a little bit longer in order to spring this thing.

What We Think: Bryan Cranston is really good here! That’s a synopsis for the whole film really. Cranston carries a so-so script to the promise land while the always fantastic John Leguizamo plays second fiddle, wonderfully might I add. Its scripting doesn’t take the material in a direction that feels weighty. The tension is only felt palpable in one scene. Furman, known for Justin Bieber’s What Do You Mean? loses a lot of what made The Lincoln Lawyer so good. It feels as though he’s been somewhat defanged or something. I am unsure, it’s hard to explain what was missing here.

Our Grade: C+, Missing just a little something to make it anything above mediocre. Cranston, as I mentioned kills it! It has some pacing issues and those stem from an extraneous runtime that altogether bloats the film. That coupled with uncertain direction hurt the film in what I’m going to consider grave. I recommend this film to fans of crime thrillers but note that it won’t be the best you see this or any other year. Cranston keeps doing good work. With a Golden Globe nomination for All the Way coming up and last year’s Oscar nomination for Trumbo in the rear view let’s see if he can keep doing some great work!