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This forgotten crime thriller from 2016 dominates Netflix
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This forgotten crime thriller from 2016 dominates Netflix

One of my favorite Netflix trends is when theatrically released movies that almost no one saw in theaters suddenly appear in the service’s top 10. The latest example of this phenomenon is The infiltratora 2016 biographical crime drama about a US Customs Special Agent who helped take down Pablo Escobar’s money laundering organization in the 1980s.

According to the Broad Green Pictures logline: “The infiltrator is the thrilling true story of Special Agent Robert “Bob” Mazur, responsible for taking down both the drug cartels and their bankers in one of history’s most daring stings.

Bryan Cranston plays Robert Mazur, with Diane Kruger, Benjamin Bratt, John Leguizamo, Saïd Taghmaoui, Joe Gilgun and Amy Ryan in supporting roles.

“I admit I was a little concerned because I was 36 to 38 years old when I performed this surgery and Bryan is not yet 36 to 38 years old!” said the real Bob Mazur about Cranston’s casting. “But his talent is so great that age became a complete non-issue.”

Despite mostly positive reviews from critics (72% on Rotten Tomatoes), The infiltrator was a box office bomb, generating $22 million in theaters against its reported budget of $28 to $47 million. For whatever reason, audiences simply weren’t interested in this particular crime thriller, but it is now finding a second life on Netflix, like many other forgotten films.

“This is a summer movie for adults, the kind that reminds you how satisfying it can be to sit down uninterrupted and watch actors work on the big screen,” wrote Time. “It stands out for its craft and verve,” said NPR in its 2016 evaluation.

The infiltrator currently sits at number 6 on Netflix’s Top 10 Movies in the US Today chart.