Review - Narcos: Mexico season 2

4 years into what I consider Netflix's crown jewel ( and my favourite series on the streaming service ), and it still kicks ass big time.

This time round, however, Scoot McNairy plays one of the lead characters instead of just doing the voiceover ( for season 1 ).
As DEA agent, Walt Breslin, he gets to finally flaunt his masculinity, from running a covert mission to capture and punish those responsible for a fellow agent's painful death, to engaging in bloody gunfights with the cartels.
I know him mainly from smaller roles in acclaimed films and TV shows like True Detective S3, Fargo S3 and Argo.
But he really caught my attention as Sheriff Bill McNue in Netflix's other crown jewel, Godless ( my second favourite series ), where he effortlessly transitioned from a sad, fearful lawman battling a personal crisis to a confident, ferocious fighter in the exhilarating finale.

His presence in Narcos is a major draw for me, the same way Paul Giamatti makes Billions so enjoyable.
He commands every scene and communicates so much with minimal or no dialogue and a stare.
But when he wields an assault weapon - that's when he's really in his element. The action scenes in Narcos have always been top notch. I have never been disappointed.


The other lead actor, Diego Luna, is equally terrific. He's come a long way from his boyish, scrawny days on Dirty Dancing 2!
As drug lord Felix Gallardo, he exudes quiet menace belying his benign appearance, and is completely believable as a cold-hearted cartel boss capable of the most horrific acts in the name of revenge.

Narcos has never received any award nomination, with critics and fans citing its unsavoury subject as the reason for the snubs.
This is a great injustice, considering its combination of exceptional actors, directors and writers.

As Luna mentioned in his interviews, the Narcos story deserves to be told. It isn't just about cartels and law enforcement agencies - the corruption extends all the way to the highest levels of government, with presidents colluding to conceal the truth from the public, cutting shady deals and lining their pockets.

If you have even half a brain, you should know that this sort of thing happens everywhere. We mere mortals mean nothing in the big picture, and lives will continue to be lost as long as those in power refuse to do the right thing.


Continuing with the same theme, I'm now reading Ronan Farrow's Catch and Kill, which chronicles his investigation of Harvey Weinstein's predatory crimes on women.
This morning, I read in the paper that the jury involved in his trial may be hung on the most serious criminal charge.
Considering his connections to many powerful people - including the Clintons - who knows if jury tampering occurred?
If he gets acquitted or only a slap on the wrist, you'll know why.

More next time.

Godless

My blogging frequency has dropped significantly, partly because of lack of time and/or energy, but also due to a change in mindset, such that the urge to write no longer occurs as readily as it used to.

So when the urge does come, it's a compelling one, and here's my first entry for 2018: a review of Netflix's Godless.

This series debuted a few months back but I got sidetracked by other shows ( Riverdale, in particular, is very good ).

I knew about Godless but guess I might've been a little put off by the Western premise, since I'm not exactly a fan of this genre ( the ones I like include Silverado and Dances With Wolves, which are considered more Western-lite ).

I can't say why I finally decided to put Riverdale on pause and switch to Godless, but the latter is now my second favourite Netflix show so far ( just behind Narcos ), and one of the best TV series of all time, IMHO.


***spoilers alert***

***spoilers alert***

***spoilers alert***


There's A LOT going on in the various story lines but I don't want to ruin it for those who haven't watched the show yet. So let's just say there's an evil villain out for revenge, his young protege who's gone into hiding in a town with an unusual demographic makeup, and many colourful, memorable characters everywhere you turn.

Written and directed by Scott Frank - who wrote the screenplays for Logan and Minority Report, among many others - Godless boasts an exquisite script and powerful performances from the entire cast, so huge credit goes to Frank.

Even the subplots are excellent - examples include Roy Goode's paternal nurturing of a fatherless young boy at the ranch where's he's hiding, the town sheriff's personal struggle with visual impairment and losing the respect of the people he failed to protect, how the deaths of practically every man in the town change the women's life choices, and there's even one about a reporter propagating fake news.

But the show clearly belongs to the 2 lead characters, Frank Griffin and Roy Goode, played flawlessly by Jeff Daniels and Jack O'Connell.

I've watched Daniels in quite a few movies these past 2 decades ( Speed, Dumb and Dumber ), but was most pleased when he clinched leading man status with The Newsroom ( a terrific series I love very much, but which didn't garner a following that warranted a renewal after season 3 ).
He plays Griffin with great relish, no doubt buoyed by the deliciously nasty lines he gets to deliver in every scene. I especially appreciate Frank's style of using short flashback sequences ( plus a few choice monologues ) to give viewers tidbits about the characters' backgrounds.
Griffin is what you might call the inevitable result of a violent history - irreversibly altered by the savagery he witnessed as a child, then groomed by the monster who murdered his family to become a beast himself. Here's a man who proudly wears a priest's collar and calls himself a preacher even though he's far from one, then spews Scripture to the cowering masses before having his posse slaughter them.
His ability to "see my own death" is a recurring theme and fuels his bold aggression, but more on this later.

The best reason to watch Godless is, of course, Jack O'Connell. He first caught my eye ( and blew my mind ) in Angelina Jolie's superb 2014 directing effort, Unbroken, but I recently discovered that I actually saw him much earlier, in the unnerving 2008 horror film Eden Lake ( costarring Michael Fassbender ).

I still don't quite understand how a British chap got cast as a cowboy, but kudos to whoever selected him, because I can't imagine anyone else playing Roy Goode.

I haven't delved in-depth into any interviews yet, but it's possible O'Connell had no experience in horse-riding, twirling guns or lassoing livestock before this role. And he nails the Southern accent and the swagger! I'm really really impressed.

Look out for a number of standout scenes: the one where Roy shoots the head off a rattlesnake that's about to strike a toddler, where he teaches an awkward boy to find the courage and strength to break a wild horse, and definitely the epic shootout in the final episode, during which he switches guns at lightning speed when the bullets run out ( reminds me of John Wick: Chapter 2 haha! ).

Perhaps the only grouse I have involves Griffin's aforementioned "see my own death" pronouncements, since we're never told what he saw, just that every time he stared down the barrel of a gun or walked into a house full of dying smallpox victims, he said he knew it "wasn't my time" yet.

So when he and Roy finally confront each other, mano a mano, why is there no reference to this? Mr. Frank, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?!


But as I said, it's a very minor complaint about an otherwise stellar piece of work. The last 15 minutes of the finale were extremely moving, and I realized how invested I was in the characters as I frantically dabbed my eyes with tissue. The closing shot of Roy on his horse, admiring the Pacific Ocean, is one I will remember for many years to come.

p.s. Pay attention to the soundtrack - it's incredible!

No word about season 2 yet, and chances are slim that it will happen. Even if it doesn't, 7 episodes of Godless are better than none, and you can be sure I'll watch them again in the not too distant future.

Jack O'Connell is now in the top 3 of my favourite actors list. I look forward to seeing him win an Oscar one day!