(Reviewed after Season 3).
The history of the Colombian drug cartels, and the US DEA's efforts to bring them to justice. Seasons 1 and 2 focus on the Medellin Cartel and its infamous leader, Pablo Escobar. Season 3 centres on the successor to the Medellin Cartel, the Cali Cartel.
Superb. Edifying, enthralling and incredibly engaging - compelling viewing. A good mix of history, drama, action and intrigue. Well-drawn and developed characters - even the bad guys have character depth.
Shows well the mountain of a task that faced the DEA in bringing Colombia's cocaine manufacturers to justice, as even the local police and politicians couldn't be trusted.
Adding to the authenticity is that about 80% of the dialogue is in Spanish. No Colombians speaking English to each other in a Spanish accent. (There are English sub-titles, of course, should you want them).
Brilliant performance by Wagner Moura as Pablo Escobar. He absolutely inhabits the role, making Escobar seem like an average guy, complete with personal mannerisms and traits. Makes for a very engaging and empathetic experience. If it wasn't for the fact that Escobar was a mass-murderer, he might even be likeable... (Interesting fact: Moura is Brazilian and had to learn Spanish for the role. Makes me even more impressed with his performance and work-ethic).
The negative aspect to Seasons 1 and 2 was the character of DEA agent Steve Murphy, played by Boyd Holbrook. He did not seem that an important enough character to be the narrator and essentially central figure of Seasons 1 and 2. Moreover, he is a tad irritating and Holbrook's performance involves talking low and slurred, which is how actors talk nowadays when they want to try to win awards, probably because they think people might mistake them for Marlon Brando.
Pedro Pascal (who might be familiar to Game of Thrones viewers, as he played Oberyn Martell in Season 4) puts in a solid performance as Agent Javier Pena. His character grows in importance as the series progresses and he really steps up as the progression occurs. In Season 3 he takes over narration and does a much better job than Boyd Holbrook.
On that note, I was a bit apprehensive about Season 3. When the Pablo Escobar story ended, I felt that this was a natural end to the series. Everything had been building up to Escobar's demise and by the time it came, I was drained, the build-up of tension was so great. Plus Wagner Moura had made him into such a larger-than-life and engaging character, replacing that character would be difficult.
However, the writers do a great job in Season 3 of maintaining the engagement, through showing several characters, good, bad and neutral, and how the events affect them, plus making the plot development incredibly nail-biting.
Fantastic series.
The history of the Colombian drug cartels, and the US DEA's efforts to bring them to justice. Seasons 1 and 2 focus on the Medellin Cartel and its infamous leader, Pablo Escobar. Season 3 centres on the successor to the Medellin Cartel, the Cali Cartel.
Superb. Edifying, enthralling and incredibly engaging - compelling viewing. A good mix of history, drama, action and intrigue. Well-drawn and developed characters - even the bad guys have character depth.
Shows well the mountain of a task that faced the DEA in bringing Colombia's cocaine manufacturers to justice, as even the local police and politicians couldn't be trusted.
Adding to the authenticity is that about 80% of the dialogue is in Spanish. No Colombians speaking English to each other in a Spanish accent. (There are English sub-titles, of course, should you want them).
Brilliant performance by Wagner Moura as Pablo Escobar. He absolutely inhabits the role, making Escobar seem like an average guy, complete with personal mannerisms and traits. Makes for a very engaging and empathetic experience. If it wasn't for the fact that Escobar was a mass-murderer, he might even be likeable... (Interesting fact: Moura is Brazilian and had to learn Spanish for the role. Makes me even more impressed with his performance and work-ethic).
The negative aspect to Seasons 1 and 2 was the character of DEA agent Steve Murphy, played by Boyd Holbrook. He did not seem that an important enough character to be the narrator and essentially central figure of Seasons 1 and 2. Moreover, he is a tad irritating and Holbrook's performance involves talking low and slurred, which is how actors talk nowadays when they want to try to win awards, probably because they think people might mistake them for Marlon Brando.
Pedro Pascal (who might be familiar to Game of Thrones viewers, as he played Oberyn Martell in Season 4) puts in a solid performance as Agent Javier Pena. His character grows in importance as the series progresses and he really steps up as the progression occurs. In Season 3 he takes over narration and does a much better job than Boyd Holbrook.
On that note, I was a bit apprehensive about Season 3. When the Pablo Escobar story ended, I felt that this was a natural end to the series. Everything had been building up to Escobar's demise and by the time it came, I was drained, the build-up of tension was so great. Plus Wagner Moura had made him into such a larger-than-life and engaging character, replacing that character would be difficult.
However, the writers do a great job in Season 3 of maintaining the engagement, through showing several characters, good, bad and neutral, and how the events affect them, plus making the plot development incredibly nail-biting.
Fantastic series.