The Infiltrator Review - Solid, Sexy, Sleek, A Four Star Speedball Ride

The Infiltrator, from Broad Green Pictures, presents the true story of DEA agent Robert "Bob" Mazur who along with Emir Abreu infiltrates the highest levels of the Medellin Cartel taking down senior lieutenants and collapsing the seventh largest global banking institution.

The Infiltrator stars Bryan Cranston, John Leguizamo, Benjamin Bratt, Diane Kruger, Amy, Ryan, Juliet Aubrey, Joseph Gilgun, Jason Isaacs, David Horovitch, Ruben Ochandiano, Simon Andreu, Art Malik, Said Taghmaqui, Elena Anaya, Matt Stirling, Nabil Massad, Carsten Hayes, Cesare Taurasi, Rez Kabir, Dinita Gohil, with Yul Vazquez as Javier Ospina Baraya and Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis.

Directed by Brad Furman, The Infiltrator is based on the book of the same name by Federal Agent Robert Mazur and adapted for the screen by Ellen Brown Furman.

The Infiltrator opens with DEA Agent Robert Mazur, played brilliantly by Bryan Cranston, in the final phases of a cocaine bust, in Tampa, as he and his "mark" leave the bowling alley the wire he is wearing has an electric short and while he is concealing the pain from his concerned dealer who thinks he is having a heart attack the two switch bags and the feds burst out of every truck, van, pillar and post rushing the two men to separate holding areas.

With the bust secure Mazur is finally finished with this identity as is heading home to his family, wife Evelyn, played by Juliet Aubrey, and two children, a normal, grounded life, he tosses the cards on the grill, a quick squirt of lighter fluid, a match and another fake identity is gone.

At the next office brief, a room full of overworked DEA agents, in South Florida, 1991, at the height of the anti-Cocaine smuggling war, Mazur is told he can retire. The burn from the wire, the million-dollar war wound, brings his number up if he decides to take it.

Ever the agent, he declines and is partnered with Emir Abreu, in a stand out performance by multi-talented John Leguizamo, which is unsettling for the precise Mazur to be joined with the improvisational Abreu.  

In what looks like a doomed relationship, Abreu brings an informant to the table, early. A money man connected to low level Medellin and in 1991, everyone knew someone connected to the drug trade.

During a morning jog Mazur comes up with a more efficient way to stop the flow of cocaine as with every 100 kilos seized, 10 times than made it past customs. As ingenious as the feds are, the smugglers with an emotional connection and vested interest in the delivery are more resourceful, inventive and clever.

So Operation C-Chase was born. Mazur clears the idea with the overworked bureaucracy and prepares Emir and the two begin working out the logistics. Mazur is careful exact and meticulous and when he determined an identity was needed he went to where his alter identity couldn't show up, the graveyard. He and Abreu picked up names with DOB's as near to their own ages. Soon, they had the necessary cards, ID's, passports and with the federal government handling the details, the passports were even stamped.

This is where we meet the life of an underworld money launderer. The high life never looked so inviting. Mazur aka Bob Musella ensured every detail, that he could control, was in place.

In order to get to the top of the money chain, the two has to work through the low level men who were in place to protect the chain of command. To infiltrate the two worked a challenge and reward system. Laundering the money in increasing increments, and with inventiveness, opened doors for the team and provided introductions.  

As the operation wore on, nerves were fraying, informants were demanding a larger percentage, and when and if necessary the two, for the safety of their own lives, and their families, became unrecognizable to themselves. Undercover agents, even if it costs the life of a civilian, will never intervene and blow their cover.  

To be a cartel man, one had to party with the cartel, and having the money to buy anything bought everything for everyone. Musella trying to maintain his commitment to his wife, made up a fiancé to skirt the call girls frequently purchased.

While he was mocked at the office, the birth of his fiancé, Kathy, embodied by Diane Kruger, provided a much needed compatriot as the two maintained a cover, for more than three years, that had them traveling the world, gaining trust and befriending the Alcaino's.

We meet Roberto Alcanio, personified in the skill and talent of Benjamin Bratt, a Senior Lieutenant one man under Pablo Escobar, and his wife, Gloria, played by Elena Anaya, as the couples spend more and more time together.

The two men, Musella and Alcanio have a bro-mance going. Both men educated, talented, working for one goal, they believe. It's like being two-timed only on an incomprehensible scale with unimaginable ramifications.

Mazur even enlists his Aunt Vicky, played by Oscar winner, Olympia Dukakis to charm Robert Alcanio with her fabrications of Manhattan real estate sales and wealth.

A cataclysmic storm was brewing as the money was building a net of drug smugglers, banking officials who were receiving at times sixteen or more suitcases of money a day, men and women who knew the law and made the decision on which side to land.

The Infiltrator is a high speed, roller coaster thrill ride, adrenaline rush.

Based on the undercover operation of one edgy, smart, bad ass DEA Agent, Robert Mazur, who is so unassuming it is hard to believe the words on the page and the scenes in the movie are actual. And yet it is true. It really happened.

The Infiltrator is stunning, gripping, smart. Expect it to be around during OSCAR season at the very least in the Best Adapted Screenplay category.  

I can't say enough about Bryan Cranston. He is a great actor. He captures the authentic boundaries in this film, from family man to C-Chase Undercover Man, which are so precarious, as the scenes are from a genuine undercover operation, that the tension jumps off the screen.

Benjamin Bratt is a scene stealer. He is quietly chilling delivering the clear message of life in the cartels. I'm sure his cast mates would say he is generous, giving enough and more to create the genuineness of a real bonding relationship.

As much as he personally does not want to stay in this vein of roles, and said so during the media day, he originally "turned down the role of Alcanio" because he felt he would type cast himself. Personally, I'm glad he changed his mind. As the two titans play off each other the scenes bond and the betrayal is felt.

Bryan Cranston, John Leguizamo, Benjamin Bratt and Diane Kruger lead an all star cast as they navigate the underworld half of which is not included.  

Cranston nails the role of undercover agent Bob Mazur taking down one of the largest cartels and the BCCI, the seventh largest bank in the world. He delivers a solid sleek, sexy, top of the game performance.

The Infiltrator has sharp, edgy, dialogue; a great soundtrack. It is solid and engaging from beginning to end. The Infiltrator is a badass modern day cartel gangster film!

The Infiltrator opens July 13, 2016. See this film! 

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