It’s a tough row to hoe when you are so thoroughly attached to a singular, seminal role likeBryan Cranstonis to Walter White inBreaking Bad.Burrowing out into different characters and a career afterward requires the audience to take a leap of faithand mentally compartmentalizethat iconic performance. It is even more challenging for television actors transitioning to full-time film players because viewers have spent so many years settling in every week to watch their favorite performances.James Gandolfinidealt with the same hurdles after his role as Tony Soprano inThe Sopranosalmost a decade earlier. But there is a reason that these actors have seared an imprint into our frontal cortex —they are too incredibly talented to be crammed into a box.Cranston is one of those generational talentswho has continued to evolve into a fully formed silver-screen actor. 2016’sThe Infiltratoris his best, most versatile film performance,and it has just hit Netflix to be enjoyed by fans worldwide.
It’s No Surprise That Bryan Cranston Makes It All Look This Easy
Unlike Heisenberg inBreaking Bad, Bryan Cranston’s character inThe Infiltratorisbased on the true storybehindRobert Mazur’s undercover work as a United States customs agent, which led toone of the most important drug busts in the war on drugs in the 1980s.The bust was also a heavy blow againstPablo Escobarand his multibillion-dollar cartel business based in Medellín, Colombia. The source material for the film was taken from Mazur’s novel:My Secret Life Inside the Dirty Banks Behind Pablo Escobar’s Medellín Cartel, which was published in 2009.
Operation C-Chase,which led to more than 100 indictments and the collection of more than $500 million that the terroristic Colombian drug organization paid, was Mazur’s baby. He coordinated and carried out the bold plan by posing as amafia-connected money launderer.He worked alongside a partner named Kathy Ertz (Diane Kruger), who played the role of his fiancée. This mysterious and covert operationresulted in the takedown of the seventh largest bank in the world— the main financial network used by the notorious drug cartel.
Cranston’s versatility has never been questioned over a career that has seen him make the jump from comedies likeMalcolm in the MiddleandSeinfeldtovery dark performancesinBreaking Badand, more recently, in the hit thriller series,Your Honor. So, it comes as little surprise thathe once again proves that he has the ability to bring the same level of drama and angstto a good guy role as Robert Mazur. Kruger,John Leguizamo, andBenjamin Brattrigorously buttress Cranston’s performance, adding to the intrigue.
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“One man against the biggest drug cartel in history.”
The taut direction of directorBrad Furmanonlyenhances the already tension-filled atmospherein which Cranston is operating.One wrong word or false move can easily lead to a bad resultfor himself and the entire operationinvolving hundreds of agents.Cranston blends his natural likability with the anxiety of living on a razor’s edge of unnerving emotion. The line between life and death is terrifyingly thin as he deals with ruthless cartel members. The fear of making that small mistake is palpable, andonly actors with the bona fides of Cranston can reel you in and make it so believable. Whether he’s the guy dealing the drugs or busting dealers, Cranston has no problemmaking it edge-of-your-seat viewing.
The Infiltrator
The Infiltratoris now available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.
WATCH ON NETFLIX
