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.

In 1991, Pablo Escobar (Benicio Del Toro) is preparing to surrender and go to jail. He gathers his supporters including Nick Brady (Josh Hutcherson). He has a special assassination mission for Nick. A few years earlier, Canadian brothers Nick and Dylan Brady are building a surfing camp on the coast. Nick falls for local Maria. After being extorted by local thugs, Nick gets help from Maria's uncle political leader Pablo Escobar.

Benicio Del Toro plays Escobar as a charming family man with a monster underneath. He shows that he would be great to play Escobar in a biopic, just not a biopic about a short Canadian surfer. Josh Hutcherson still looks like a kid. His character is hopelessly naive and white toast. His relationship with Maria has limited heat. I can't even tell how long they've been together. His child-like smile doesn't help. He's a kid getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar. It's a sideway method of taking on the iconic drug lord's story. The last act does have some thrills but they are always undercut by Hutcherson's shock and Canadian nice-boy sensibilities.

I guess a role like that in Hunger Games can make comparisons like that easy. Also if you spend most of the time with Josh instead of Benicio (playing Escobar) you might feel tempted to question what the movie is actually about. But there are hints at the beginning which become bigger towards the end.

I'm not sure, that's how Escobar actually was. But the man depicted is anything but a Saint, even if he might have done some nice things for his people. Obviously some things are heightened for movie purposes especially towards the end. The suspense is there, but the movie might be even better, if there was more of Escobar. His character being mesmerizing every time he is on screen. But maybe that was the reason. He came off too good and therefor might have confused people (again especially towards the end) ... Decent effort of a real crime thriller