I was expecting to feel more tension with "The Infiltrator," a story based on the real life of Customs agent Robert Mazur. The movie does show the fine line Mazur (Brian Cranston) walks as he poses as a money launderer to catch Pablo Escobar in 1980s Florida. He manages to make drug importers, drug dealers and dirty bankers like him and in some cases, even love him. However, the movie in general conveys the basic facts of the story while rarely making us feel for Mazur's plight or peril.
Director Brad Furman and screenwriter Ellen Brown Furman (the director's mother) get most of their material from Mazur's autobiography, but the script introduces so many characters it's hard to keep them straight let alone develop any characterization. And elements of the story feel sloppy: a subplot about the CIA stalking Mazur goes nowhere and a scene in which he submits to a voodoo test in order to earn the cartel's approval makes little sense since he's already handled millions of their money and befriended dozens of Escobar's men. Nonetheless, "The Infiltrator" is mostly saved by its superb cast. Cranston makes both Mazur and his alter ego feel like real people (despite the fact that the script does not give him the opportunity to reveal the psychological toll his undercover work takes). Diane Kruger (another Customs agent) plays his fiancee with grace and ease. John Leguizamo finds the balance between erratic and crazy as Mazur's adrenaline-loving partner. And Benjamin Bratt is excellent as Escobar's top lieutenant. Forman has a compelling true story and an exceptional cast, but a weak script and his bland direction leaves "The Infiltrator" unable to ratchet up the tension.
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