MovieChat Forums > The Infiltrator (2016) Discussion > They needed another 20 mintues to fill p...

They needed another 20 mintues to fill plot holes


Unfortunately this brings up a major issue. The script seems to gloss over some important details to the story which leads to a lot of questionable motives for the characters. For example, halfway in, we are introduced to Benjamin Bratt who plays Roberto Alcaino, one of the main cash collectors for Pablo Escobar. He develops a relationship between Robert and his fake fiancé played by Diane Kruger would apparently never went undercover in her life. Towards the end, they set up a fake wedding which is used to bust all of the guilty parties involved in the cartel activities, except Escobar of course. The decision to arrest Roberto and his family is portrayed as a difficult decision for Mazur but you don’t really understand why that is. I mean sure there are a couple of scenes where they talk about each other’s backgrounds and he meets his wife and kid but Mazur is a career undercover agent and knew this was the end game from the start and it’s not like Alciano took a bullet for him at any point so the fact that he would personally feel remorse for this seems very unbelievable and out of character. Alcanio even admits to killing his friend and informant in the same car that Mazur was in before it crashed. I would like to think if someone sent a box of blood to my family’s house and my daughter was the first one to find it, I would want the arrest warrant sent in on same day shipping to get the job done. Speaking of his daughter, Mazur has a real family and a real wife but it seems like their sole purpose is to show up every 30 minutes, look disappointed, and somehow not get kidnapped at any point of the film.



https://societyreviews.wordpress.com/2016/07/13/the-infiltrator-review/

reply

Totally agree they're so conflicted about setting them up and it just doesn't feel earned at all. I enjoyed the movie but it would have been much better as a mini series. It made sense for him to come out of hiding to attend the wedding. They hadn't established the relationship enough...

reply

It wasn't a plot hole. They just didn't develop the friendship between Robert and Roberto enough to effectively convey any sense of regret that Robert may have had over the bust. I understood WHY it was a difficult decision but the movie just didn't sell me on the idea of any deep, meaningful relationship between the two because they only shared 5 minutes of screen time.

reply

Obviously, you didn't pay attention to the movie when you supposedly "watched" it...

He develops a relationship between Robert and his fake fiancé played by Diane Kruger would apparently never went undercover in her life.


There is no APPARENTLY about it. The movie clearly states that this is her first uncover assignment and clearly states that she is chosen because they don't have any other female agents to choose from. Also, the notes about her at the end also say that this was her first and only undercover assignment.


The decision to arrest Roberto and his family is portrayed as a difficult decision for Mazur but you don’t really understand why that is.


They didn't decide to arrest him at the wedding, the fake couple both were surprised at him showing up because they thought he was in hiding.


You must have been playing on your cell phone or else engaged in a lengthy conversation with someone during this movie instead of actually watching it.


reply

It honestly felt to me like there was an extra 20 minutes of 'filler' in the middle somewhere that served as a plot device just to fill in the plot holes.

reply

[deleted]

that's not what 'plot hole' means.

Plot hole - Aspect of a film that is misunderstood or missed while using your smart phone.

reply

My feeling is that they kind of rushed the bonding between the two families, in just trying to get all the information into a 2-hour movie that they needed to get in there.
Seems like this is a trope in movies, that you're supposed to just suspend disbelief and understand that towards the end, if the protagonist is feeling all sorts of remorse like this, then there must have been a lot more bonding that went on that the viewer just wasn't privy to.
The bonding scenes seem tougher to do in these kinds of movies. When you're trying to portray a man and woman bonding, you can just go for a montage, like in every romantic comedy ever, Deadpool etc, but harder to do it with a couple families bonding.

reply

^^BINGO!

7/10 is what it deserves

reply