Narcos: Mexico Review – Highly Fascinating!

Advertised as the ‘Birth of Mexico’s Drug War’, Narcos: Mexico introduces us to the rise of the Godfather of Mexican Drug Cartel, Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo (played by Diego Luna) and the Deathless Empire that he builds amounting to more Drug Lords, Corrupt Police Officers and Government Officials. On the far side, DEA agent Kiki Camarena (played by Michael Peña), portrays the role of an honest and hardworking police officer who decides to challenge Félix and his wrongdoings.

Right after the last episode of Season 2, the anticipation levels for Season 3 dropped comparatively (at least for me) seeing that we lost a charismatic actor in Wagner Moura and an engaging character in Pablo Escobar. So, the entire third season did feel like a letdown and an disappointing aftermath, to say the least. However, amidst of mixed reactions for the promos and the TV spots, Narcos: Mexico delivered and rekindled the second season flair and flavour to full measure.

Contrary to what we’ve seen in Colombia, this season transpires in Mexico, in a different setting and in a different atmosphere. But, the essence of the show still remains the same, amounting to sex, drugs, violence and money. The description also remains consistent, with a good guy chasing a bad guy, but, since we’re introduced to a fresh new storyline, it is compelling to find out next as the screenplay throughout this episodic-series was tight and was apportioned with the right amount of cliffhangers to keep the narrative engaging.

Although not compatible with Escobar, the series’ desperado Félix is, for the most part, merciless and carries greed and gluttony to a great degree. His fascination for more power and more money was portrayed effectively by Diego Luna who succeeds in brings intrigue to his depraved character despite not having a menacing personality. His counterpart, on the other hand, Kiki Camarena played by Michael Peña, is the equivalent of an uber honest cop, and a character who has an emotional build-up with his fellow colleagues and family. This role, in particular, had plenty of moving pieces and Peña skillfully his poignant skills in contrast to other roles we’ve seen him play in Ant-Man and other comedies.

Overall, Narcos: Mexico adhered to its core formula and delivered an equally impressive and highly fascinating ten-hour drama much like Seasons 1 and 2. If you’re a fan of the series or even a “binge-watcher” who never watched an episode of Narcos, I recommend you to watch this high-intense drama to familiarize yourself with the Drug Wars between the United States of America and Mexico in the early 1980s.

Rating – 3.5/5 | Grade – B+

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