I think that it is important to point out that the series doesn't make a hero or an anti-hero out of el Chapo and he is portrayed—at least at times—like the sociopath capable of leading a cartel where there is absolutely no room for normal human beings. If you know anything about the drug cartels you know that brutal murder is their first tool in management.
So episode #1 started off rather slowly with the very forced tension of El Chapo getting cornered into a race against the clock to prove himself with Don Pablo Escobar. For a moment I swear I heard the music from Chariots of Fire as el Chapo was running to make his deadline. Let's just say that episode #1 left a lot of room for improvement.
At one point they actually had a clicking clock to show the passage of time while we wait for an attack. These people are clueless about building suspense while telling a story. The director(s) just don't seem to understand how to film action sequences or create tension.
The thing is, the story is so incredibly compelling that even with the amateurish direction the series holds up well and is definitely worth watching even if I have to learn Spanish all over again to pick up all of the Mexican slang and vocabulary differences from the language spoken here in Spain.
The principal actor in the role of el Chapo looks astonishingly like his real-life counterpart. Overall the acting is good which is surprising because usually with faulty directing the acting suffers.
So episode #1 started off rather slowly with the very forced tension of El Chapo getting cornered into a race against the clock to prove himself with Don Pablo Escobar. For a moment I swear I heard the music from Chariots of Fire as el Chapo was running to make his deadline. Let's just say that episode #1 left a lot of room for improvement.
At one point they actually had a clicking clock to show the passage of time while we wait for an attack. These people are clueless about building suspense while telling a story. The director(s) just don't seem to understand how to film action sequences or create tension.
The thing is, the story is so incredibly compelling that even with the amateurish direction the series holds up well and is definitely worth watching even if I have to learn Spanish all over again to pick up all of the Mexican slang and vocabulary differences from the language spoken here in Spain.
The principal actor in the role of el Chapo looks astonishingly like his real-life counterpart. Overall the acting is good which is surprising because usually with faulty directing the acting suffers.