The Infiltrator

The Infiltrator is a great-looking, well-paced, wickedly funny and seriously tense thriller, bolstered by an ensemble cast as good as I’ve seen in any film this year.

At times, The Infiltrator feels like a movie we’ve seen before, but deft performances and Furman’s sharp sense of the era transform it into an engrossing drama.

The Infiltrator works best in its unglamorous scenes of everyday deception.

A stylish and well-acted espionage thriller, The Infiltrator is also naggingly familiar.

Director Brad Furman (“The Lincoln Lawyer”) does a serviceable job of keeping the narrative elements in play but has trouble making us care.

The Infiltrator isn’t necessarily bad, it just has nothing unique, compelling, or memorable to offer in its over two-hour runtime.

Its clunky incidents of exposition leave us with no real understanding of what anyone is thinking or feeling.

A really good movie, Bryan Cranston's acting is really good as usual and the whole plot, which is based on real events, makes the story more interesting.

Bryan Cranston plays a real-life Federal agent who assumes the identity of a money-laundering exec to burrow undercover in Pablo Escobar’s drug trafficking operation. There's nothing original about this story or especially stimulating about this film. Cranston and the rest of the cast do credible jobs. It's interesting to watch the scheme develop, but there's almost no tension or conflict to create compelling drama. I’m sure the intention was to take a somewhat businesslike approach to telling the story with some personal struggle sprinkled on top. That was accomplished, but it's in no way memorable.

and the guilty pleasures of encountering those close calls.. The Infiltrator Furham's close call philosophy may not wear down but it surely isn't a brighter picture if accounted the entire venture. It thrives on intensity that makes you and the characters sweat but it's the performance that makes you recall the stakes and not the writing or execution. But it also doesn't suggest that it isn't worth exploring the world, it's just that the actors deserved much more like we did. Ticking for more than two hours, it also fails to differentiate the terms of an elaborative script and an overstretched one. The narration is gripping and adaptive but is also repetitive especially if considered the entire first half that resonates eerily with the second one. The conversations are pragmatic but the writing isn't as layered as the writers might suggest. It just floats on the surface and scraps off the thrills and chills by focusing entirely on the crispy part while neglecting the husky essential bits. Cranston at the heart of it, is what makes the entire two hours worth diving into as he delivers in each frame with a more reserved yet expressive emotions. He is way too cunning, he can be lethally cruel (the birthday cake sequence is one of its finest) and unequivocally generous. But between that, he gets caught multiple times and it's that resistance of not giving in, is what makes him stand alone. Kruger is decently convincing along with Leguizamo and Ryan. Fruham's execution is appropriately up to the mark and nothing above the line, its mediocrity fails to elevate few flat moments on the script which could have factored a lot in here. Cranston and the guilty pleasures of encountering those close calls are the peak moments of The Infiltrator, **** for either of it, it is then thoroughly entertaining as it is in plethora.

What a waste **** story. Terrible directing, bad cutting and confusing. No background on the characters, no character development. Would not recommend it

C’est toujours une joie de retrouver Monsieur White, y compris lorsqu’il est du côté des… gentils ! l’excellent Bryan Cranston doit donc infiltrer l’organisation des narco-trafiquants afin de ferrer le gros poisson, pas le menu fretin ! Si l’ambiance des années 80 est plutôt bien restituée, tout le reste du film (à supposer d’avoir la motivation pour aller jusqu’au bout, notamment le niveau de vigilance requis, vu qu’on en vient à piquer du nez assez vite…) tout le reste, disais-je, s’avère d’un ennui et d’une platitude… stupéfiants ! Je crois que le film souffre de narcolepsie et s’endort et nous endort sans le savoir ; il multiplie les clichés et le déjà vu à l’infini, ce qui expliquerait pourquoi on s’en désintéresse si rapidement. Tout cela manque de mordant et se révèle aussi passionnant à regarder qu’un vieux téléfilm moisi. En outre et enfin, l’ensemble reste peu clair, voire carrément confus ! un sacré ratage donc !