El Chapo

First of all, I have a lot of doubts when I'm starting to see a TV show and the show have a rating below 8.0 on IMDb. So, I take a chance with these one at 7.9. . . I have a lot of doubts because these show was produced by Univision in association with Netflix, and as Latin guy that love products of great quality, Univision is the last company I expect good productions or shows. They always do a bad job bringing a touch of reality and suspense in the 99% of shows they produce related with drug kingpins. . .I was expecting a lot of blood and a lot of violence in the gruesome way and I finish disappointed when I see the words "Univision", I knew in that moment that I have to change my view of what I will see in "El Chapo". So, if you read this, you need to change the mentality of expecting a lot of blood, violence, gunshots, abductions, etc; because these show is not that. It's more like a political thriller and the government corruption at all the levels. It's not as good as I expected because the story of "El Chapo" have a lot of moments that presented in the right way can make an understatement, but the producers decided to put these story in an ambiguous way. Still, is the best "El Chapo" TV show/movie to these date, but I think they could do a better job.

If one compares "El Chapo" head on along with big budget and runaway hits like the Narcos and Narcos: Mexico, El Chapo despite its lower budget and an all Mexican production does very well to hold on its own on several fronts and is in fact is better than Narcos and Narcos: Mexico on certain segments. The biggest strength of El Chapo lies is its solid writing, a screenplay that never deviates even one bit from its storyline whatsoever.

The first season is rock solid and remains totally focused on the raise of Joaquin Guzman. The second season focuses on his taking control of as "The Boss" and the turf wars plaguing within and among the other cartels. The third mainly focuses on a hide and seek game with the government forces and his ultimate arrest. All three seasons also enlightens and gives us great insights on the political system and the corruption that had engulfed Mexico over the decades. Yes, there are several cheesy scenes in second and third seasons on several occasions but the show comes back strongly soon enough and erases the silly effect in our heads with some brilliant follow up scenes every time.

Cinematography is very good right throughout the series and excels in stunt sequences, in fact stunt sequences are a mixed bag owing to a low budget but the DOP covers much of budget concerns with his excellent craft. As said earlier the strongest suit of El Chapo is its screenplay that never deviates from the original storyline, though there are several characters in the series, excellent screenplay makes it very easy to remember them. Editing is excellent as there are almost zero scenes that is not required for the storyline, unlike Narcos or Narcos: Mexico especially. Costumes are in tune with what the cartel members and bosses wear if one googles them, The military costumes were great, though all looked brand new. Production design and casting were par. Makeup is little overdone for the main characters in the 2nd and 3rd seasons. Music is 80% excellent and 20% goofy, the title song is terrific, I never skipped it once in all 35 episodes.

Acting is also a mixed bag in my opinion but very acceptable if one considers the budget and the fact that it was made for Mexican TV. About 6/10 actors were brilliant in their portrayal of their roles, with Humberto Busto delivering a top notch performance portraying Conrado Sol and Marco de la O a distant second playing the lead. On the other hand the actors who played the DEA agents were the worst.

Overall, El Chapo is a must see series for anyone who has seen Narcos and Narcos: Mexico. In fact it's a great follow up, as the series interlaces with the other two series at different time frames. Yes, sadly the making and treatment is not on the league of the other two but the screenplay and editing is definitely better in El Chapo. The series is definitely a gem on its own and will stay in our minds for a long time, if one travels the distance of 35 episodes. 8/10 for first season, 8/10 for second season and 7/10 for the third for an average of 7.3/10 overall.

I really loved this series. I thought it was much better than Narcos. If you know anything about Mexico during the past 20 years, El Chapo will be even more enjoyable because it does a great job of portraying the political, social and economic complexities of the country and it will all be familiar and very true to life. But, even if you don't know anything about Mexico, you can still enjoy it for the drama and excitement of this crime genre.

The casting was brilliant. Marco de la O did a great job as El Chapo. He captured the accent,the mannerisms and even resembled El Chapo so much that you could forget he was an actor playing a part. It felt like you were really seeing El Chapo. Even the clothing he wore was the same as what you see in photos and videos of El Chapo, so the attention to detail was amazing. Humberto Busto was also outstanding as the corrupt politician Conrado Sol. The actors who played former Presidents Salinas, Fox, Calderon, Peña Nieto and other recognizable politicians in Mexico were really good at creating their characters. Chapo's family, friends, and henchmen were also convincing in their roles. Overall, it was a believable cast and very well acted.. Almost everything that happens in the show happened in real life, so it's almost like watching a documentary.

The series comes down very heavy on the Mexican government and justice system, showing how corrupt everyone is. The message is clear; the drug cartels are run on a model very similar to Mexico's political parties, manipulating everything and everyone to achieve their goals. El Chapo is violent and ruthless, but so is almost everyone else in power, so there are really no "good guys" in the show, just different groups of people trying to advance their interests. It explains why the drug cartels came into existence in Mexico, why they got so out of hand, and why no one could stop them. With or without El Chapo, the drug trade continues today because it's not dependent on one man. It's a well-oiled machine that keeps running, and the leadership positions get filled by whoever is the most manipulative and ruthless, just like the political system. The most evil character in the show is Conrado Sol because he has no loyalty, no morals and no scruples, and yet he hypocritically pretends to be the savior of Mexico. As long as Mexico is in the hands of people like him, there's no solution to the problem of corruption and violence.

I appreciated that the show was from a Mexican point of view, and that the DEA characters had small roles. I'm not particularly interested in DEA agents, and am more interested in seeing how the drug trade impacts Mexican society. The violence engendered by the warring cartels and the Mexican government's war on drugs is of great importance to the Mexican people and has made life very difficult for them. While El Chapo is the recognizable name and face for the problem, the show made it clear that the problem is more widespread than that, and that the economic and social problems of Mexico created conditions in which drug trafficking became a viable way of making money. The show doesn't whitewash the violence of the narcos, but it does put it in a social context.

Overall I would highly recommend the show to anyone who likes this genre. It's violent but not overly graphic. It's definitely binge worthy.

I watched it after Narcos, like most people apparently did, and i was caught by surprised by how actually good this show is!! The acting is good, the pacing is good, the plot is good. It's more realistical than Narcos (comparatively speaking), way more gritty and less glamour. The first 2 seasons are especially good ( El Cano is a very good villain). Don Sol's storyline gets a little trite in season 3 but i absolutely recommend this show!

What has struck me the most about this well-acted series is the sense of impending doom under which "El Chapo" lived. He worked hard and ruthlessly as a prolific murderer to become a "Patron" only to find his position always at the edge of a precipice. He is constantly betrayed, undermined, falsely accused (of the Cardinal's murder)and pursued by assassins. His life would make one wonder why anybody would be stupid enough to want his job. There would be a ton of cash but no peace ever in site for such a man or his family. I know of his impoverished upbringing. And that growing and trafficking drugs was the only way to make money in his isolated community. Multiple generations of his family were in the trade as Marijuana and Opium growers. His cousins were in it. He was born into it. But you would think that there would enough examples of how this would not end well for an intelligent man to make the decision to get out. Apparently in El Chapo's position it doesn't matter how smart one is. And you wonder if the lucky ones are not the ones who get killed early in their careers. Instead of living life constantly on the run from everyone and under daily mental suffering. This is a tale of some one willingly allowing himself to be sucked into an abyss. He had to know that if they didn't take his life, they would still take everything else. And they did. What you might question is the mentality of some one who continues going down that road despite knowing what lies at the end. And I also must question the mentality of a popular sub-culture in Mexico that worships and admires these "Narcos." They write songs about them. Do they not have eyes to see what happens to these people? El Chapo's life was not a pleasant one.