Cartel War

It only cost $7.99

     

Where do I start? This subject matter had the potential to stand on Par with Michael Mann’s 1995 HEAT (Pacino/DeNiro) ……. but it just constantly Fizzles. One possibility might be Jack Lucarelli who is (1) Writer; (2) Director, (3) Producer & (4) Lead Roll Actor …. Perhaps spread too thin? Lighting and Camera Directors should be Shot on Sight, looked like home video half the time ….. and …. the ….. dialog … was …. delivered …. with …. all …. the …. smoothness …. of …. a …. first …. read …. thru …. at …. the …. table. They knew their lines, but there was no feeling or emotion. Best example of this was the Sister of the Big Bad Cartel Dude “Catalina” who consistently delivered her lines with the energy of a Heroin Addict or perhaps someone who popped too many pills & washed them down with Booze. She always seemed to be one syllable away from passing out.

As a movie in it’s own right, And Given it Only Cost $7.99 …. It wasn’t a Total waste of 93 minutes …… but I’m filled with disappointment over how much better this Could Have Been. Jack had a great story to tell, he just didn’t do it all that well. Given this was the special task force assigned to bring down the Biggest Mexican Cartel (“Back In The Day”) it seemed the “Investigation” just sort of fell together as they walked from one room to the next. This would have been a Very Involved process with countless twists & turns (in real life) but the script runs a straight line from A-Z, skipping 2/3rds of the letters between.

Give this story to Michael Mann or Ridley Scott …etc. and you would have a nail biter that would rock you from opening scene to closing credits. Sadly you can check your e-mail and play with the dog and your really not missing anything here.