Narcos - Season 1 Review
Biographical style shows or films are a weird genre for me. Sometimes you can go too far into the deep end with creativity, or sometimes you can do too much to fit with the true events that it simply isn't fun. I've expressed this previously and here we are with another series that was on my list: Narcos. While Narcos most certainly uses more creative than true events, that doesn't happen to be a problem for this show. We all know Pablo Escobar, and this beginning to the events that happened in Colombia is captivating.
If there's one area of importance to think about in this entire series, it's the portrayal of Escobar and the Medellin Cartel. Seeing Wagner Moura portray one of the most prominent drug lords of history is necessary viewing for television fans. Half of this season takes place following the life and times of Escobar and the formation of his cartel. While I'm sure many of this is fiction in terms of how he lived his life, it really does get across the idea of a man with nothing to lose and a life that is just too extravagant to contain. There was a period of time where Escobar was viewed as a great man in Colombia for helping the people by giving money from his massive fortune. Seeing his rise and fall throughout the season was astounding and Wagner Moura is exceptional. He manages to keep the same mild mannered temperament throughout events that would anger most people to the core. Seeing him lash out gives his portrayal even more uniqueness, and made him all the more interesting.
On the other side of the season is the two main agents, Murphy (Boyd Holbrook) and Javier Peña (Pedro Pascal). I would be lying if I said their story was as intriguing as that of Escobar. They seem to be while most definitely real people who did participate in these events and took these actions, more of the generic military agents that are required for a show like this. While neither character has a lot of depth, I do enjoy Javier though, he has a bit more intrigue as he is in uhm... close contact with some agents in Escobar's team. There was some points to try to humanize and create a draw and I just never felt it. Certainly they are good characters but they just feel stereotypical compared to the world around them.
Speaking of the world around them, the story and style of the show is fantastic. The intrigue that happens when going from scene is great as I never expected what was going to happen with the cartel even though I knew the general story of them. Seeing other cartels interact with Pablo's organization was also great, giving a sense of how this underbelly works together. Along with the story of the Colombian governments working with the US, this story is gripping and interesting. There were a few points where I simply wasn't interested because either a scene lingered or just the characters on screen weren't interesting, but it kept my attention for the majority of the season.
Narcos is a show that changes through it's seasons, and while this first season was great I do worry how future seasons are going to be handled. That doesn't matter for this review though, as season 1 of Narcos is worth seeing by any fan of the bio-pic genre. Any Netflix subscriber should actually give this show a try in general because the story and portrayal of Pablo make it worth it. Just keep in mind going in, you'll sometimes find yourself rooting for the enemy in Pablo and his cartel because the other characters just aren't as interesting.
