Pablo Escobar, like other notorious criminals before him, was revered and loved by the common man in Colombia. He built schools, clinics and churches in their communities. He took care of "problems". He was a (seemingly) loving husband, father, and in this movie, an uncle who could do no wrong by his niece, Maria. Imagine her boyfriend Nick's (Josh Hutcherson's) surprise then when he finds out that dear, sweet Uncle Pablo is in fact a ruthless and deadly cocaine kingpin.

There wasn't much I didn't like about this movie. First-time feature director and writer, Andrea Di Stefano, offers up a solid script, which he told the TIFF audience is part fact, part fiction. He lets Del Toro weave his magic as Pablo (was the guy born to play the role, or what?), but he also lets Hutcherson do his thing. Both give great performances without straying over-the-top, which they could very well have done with roles like these.

I think I was concerned that the movie would evolve quickly into a cheesefest and it never did. The action is good and the plot is highly plausible and well-paced.

This is NOT an Escobar biopic. It is a really well-told story in which Escobar plays a central role. I hope North American audiences will be able to get past the subtitles and give this film a shot - no pun intended.