Facing El Chapo Review
Director: Chava Cartas
Date Created: 2026-08-21 19:31
2.5
Facing El Chapo Review: Directed by Chava Cartas and written by Bernardo Esquinca and Héctor de Mauleón, La Captura is a 1 hour and 31 minute long Mexican crime thriller inspired by true events. The film stars Alfonso Herrera as police officer Arturo Carmona, Noé Hernández as his partner Héctor Rosales, and Héctor Kotsifakis as the notorious drug lord El Chapo, with Paola Fernández, Hector Kotsifakis, Juan Pablo Cruz García, Antonio Fortier, Allan Durell, and others in supporting roles.
Facing El Chapo Review
Netflix Mexican film Facing El Chapo presents Arturo as a cop who is suffering from problems in his life. Arturo is married to a woman named Isaura who, along with him, already has two children, but now it comes out that she is expecting a third child. The two of them find themselves facing lots of debt and struggling with bills because now they need to support three children, and their expenses have gone up.
Arturo cannot think about an abortion, and he feels like he needs to earn more money, so he takes a night shift along with Rosales. From being just two cops coping with tough night shifts, it all ends up being a unique bond. Their lives change drastically when their police operation forces El Chapo into their lives.
The most significant issue I have with Netflix’s Facing El Chapo was that I could sense the movie attempting to create tension before it even gave me any reason to be nervous about the situation. The beginning of the film has a lot of time spent explaining the economic troubles of Arturo and his family obligations, and while I don’t particularly mind that decision, I think it’s necessary to know what Arturo has to lose. Had the filmmakers utilised this knowledge about Arturo throughout the rest of the film, then each of his threats would have felt much more personal to him.
Arturo turns out to be a very poorly-developed hero. It is great that Alfonso Herrera plays his part with restraint and seriousness, which is appropriate for such a character, but the problem is that the screenplay fails to offer him more complex emotions to explore. Yes, I am aware of the fact that Arturo has problems with money, loves his family, and is serious about being an officer. However, I wanted to know more about the man beneath all these traits. His decisions start to matter when El Chapo shows up, but I do not feel that I know how he feels inside.
It was somewhat a similar situation with Rosales. The presence of Noé Hernández definitely lends more personality to this team, especially during those parts of the film when both officers were still learning about each other’s abilities. Their friction, in fact, became one of the best moments in the film due to its realism. They do not become the perfect team right away, and there is some doubt about them. Since Rosales was the new guy, I was initially wondering if I could trust him when the going got tough.
Unfortunately, the Netflix Facing El Chapo movie doesn’t capitalise on it. Once the bond between Arturo and Rosales is established, the danger of treachery becomes minimal. When the duo finally comes face to face with the great lure of El Chapo’s money, the plot becomes way simpler than it should have been. Rosales makes an allusion to the great fortune at their disposal, especially given the financial situation of Arturo, but the hint is immediately forgotten. I can see the need of the filmmakers to establish the characters as honest men, but for the story, the lure could have remained longer.
That problem extends to El Chapo himself. Héctor Kotsifakis is excellent whenever the character tries to get his way via intimidation tactics. The threats ring a lot of truth because there is already an established fact that Arturo and Rosales know precisely who they are dealing with. I also enjoyed instances where he seemed unsure of himself. Rather than giving him the impression of an unshakable super-villain, the actor has portrayed a character who is aware that his high-profile status does not confer immortality on him.
However, it’s the thriller aspect that really turns me off about the Mexican movie Facing El Chapo. The very nature of the film already suggests high stakes: two relatively average cops having to guard a famous member of a cartel without knowing who he has on his side, and waiting for the backup, which isn’t coming soon. In this case, there are no writers needed, because the film can write itself. Unfortunately, there is little intensity in the action scenes.
This becomes even more disappointing in light of the fact that the film does not require constant gunplay to succeed. In fact, I believe that the grounding aspect of the film should be seen as an asset in itself. It is more plausible to see the threat as credible when the members of the cartel do not act as discreditable villains in a generic action movie who simply attack for the sake of having an action sequence in the script. However, grounded films must escalate as well.
Netflix Facing El Chapo Review: Summing Up
Overall, for me, Facing El Chapo turns out to be a hit-and-miss experience since the film pays homage to the true-life event rather than dramatising it. While I appreciate the attempt to preserve something important, simply having respect for the people behind the event does not make it an entertaining thriller. With more character development, a bit of moral complexity, and a good deal more suspense in the storyline, the film would have turned out very differently.
Also Read: Chompoo: Lost & Forgotten Review: Heartbreaking Case Overshadowed by a Disturbing Media Circus
