The Infiltrator
Broad Green Pictures | Release Date: July 13, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
66
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 38 Critic Reviews
Positive:
26
Mixed:
11
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJul 12, 2016
The Infiltrator is a great-looking, well-paced, wickedly funny and seriously tense thriller, bolstered by an ensemble cast as good as I’ve seen in any film this year. Read full review
90
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJul 14, 2016
Untold billions are laundered in The Infiltrator, while Pablo Escobar’s Medellín cartel moves mountains of cocaine into U.S. markets. But the drug of choice here is acting, and the highs in this hurtling, often violent thriller are doubly intense, since two of its stars play flamboyant double roles. Read full review
90
VarietyOwen GleibermanJul 6, 2016
Bryan Cranston gives the most authentic and lived-in performance as an agent pretending to be a criminal that I have ever seen. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyDevan CogganJul 13, 2016
The Infiltrator may not be as innovative as "Breaking Bad," but it sure is fun to watch Cranston at his best again, masterfully walking the tightrope between good and bad. Read full review
83
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallJul 12, 2016
The Infiltrator is an evocative crime drama, anchored by Cranston's gift for playing internal conflict with wordless expression and that deep, clinched voice. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangJul 12, 2016
It’s Cranston’s most accomplished and subtly layered film performance to date. Read full review
76
TheWrapClaudia PuigJul 6, 2016
At times, The Infiltrator feels like a movie we’ve seen before, but deft performances and Furman’s sharp sense of the era transform it into an engrossing drama. Read full review
75
The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenJul 14, 2016
Though The Infiltrator breaks no new ground in its storytelling, it is nonetheless a riveting piece of work. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJul 13, 2016
This isn’t "Miami Vice." In fact, the intent (perhaps intentional) is for the gritty, noir-tinged The Infiltrator to tilt in the opposite direction. Read full review
75
New York PostLou LumenickJul 13, 2016
The Infiltrator satisfyingly builds to an improbable but ripped-from-the-headlines climax. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJul 13, 2016
There have been many movies about cops working undercover, but The Infiltrator is different. It shows the difficulty of it, the almost-second-by-second stress involved in having to be yourself without being yourself, and having to seem relaxed without ever relaxing. It’s possible to get nervous just thinking about this movie. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerJul 13, 2016
On its own limited terms, The Infiltrator, like its hero, delivers the goods. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJul 13, 2016
The Infiltrator works best in its unglamorous scenes of everyday deception. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanJul 12, 2016
There’s not much new to The Infiltrator – perhaps nothing, except the setting of the climax – but the vintage stuff is satisfying. Read full review
75
ConsequenceCollin BrennanJul 12, 2016
Furman’s film paints in various shades of gray as opposed to the blacks and whites typical to this genre, and for that he and Cranston deserve praise. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJul 12, 2016
Thanks to Cranston’s performance — along with a game supporting cast — and Brad Furman’s tension-building direction, the movie works. Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen HoldenJul 12, 2016
Robert is not a Shakespearean figure like Walter White, but the film at least grants him the moral stature of an incorruptible man risking his life in a dangerous job. The Infiltrator is still a good yarn that, when it catches its breath, allows Mr. Cranston to convey the same ambivalence and cunning he brought to “Breaking Bad” and “All the Way." Read full review
70
New York Daily NewsJoe DziemianowiczJul 8, 2016
The movie rises thanks to an ace in the hole: Bryan Cranston, whose stirring star turn hooks us completely. Read full review
67
The PlaylistWill AshtonJul 12, 2016
The Infiltrator is ultimately a solid, if not exceptional, Scorsese takeoff, one that has just enough spunk and wit to make up for its often-apparent shortcomings. Read full review
67
IndieWireEric KohnJul 12, 2016
A stylish and well-acted espionage thriller, The Infiltrator is also naggingly familiar. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerAug 11, 2016
Unfortunately, the script is held together with something much less adhesive than, say, Amy Adams’s "American Hustle" blouse tape. Read full review
63
Rolling StonePeter TraversJul 13, 2016
Sadly, Furman keeps shoving the movie into the box of clichés he thinks the audience wants. We don't, and you can tell that Cranston doesn't want it either. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTom RussoJul 13, 2016
The movie’s best moments illustrate the lines that Mazur won’t cross, plus a few that he will. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaJul 13, 2016
As solid as Cranston, Leguizamo, Kruger, Bratt, and all the rest are, the built-in constraints of the movie format don't do their real-life counterparts full justice. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comPeter SobczynskiJul 13, 2016
The film as a whole just never quite overcomes the inherent familiarity of its premise to become its own unique thing. Those looking for a story equal to Cranston’s contributions to it are liable to come away from it feeling slightly disappointed. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchCalvin WilsonJul 13, 2016
Director Brad Furman (“The Lincoln Lawyer”) does a serviceable job of keeping the narrative elements in play but has trouble making us care. Read full review
60
EmpireChris Hewitt (1)Sep 13, 2016
Often gripping, and elevated by Cranston’s superb central performance. But it’s hard not to feel like we’ve seen this before, often and done better. Read full review
60
Time OutJoshua RothkopfJul 14, 2016
The Infiltrator works best when it owns its Miami Vice–esque sizzle: Composer Chris Hajian breaks out the percolating Jan Hammer synthesizers, and the ’80s decadence wafts offscreen like a stink. Read full review
60
Screen DailyTim GriersonJul 6, 2016
A moderately engaging thriller that coasts along without ever evolving into the more riveting character study it has the potential to be. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenJul 6, 2016
Cranston turns every moment of duplicity, which is to say nearly every scene of The Infiltrator, into an emotionally textured high-wire act. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenJul 13, 2016
Despite its overly familiar ring and lack of genuine suspense, there are nice touches that can be found throughout The Infiltrator. Brad Furman (The Lincoln Lawyer), however, hasn’t the stylistic chops to turn this from a routine movie into a memorable thriller. Read full review
50
ScreenCrushE. Oliver WhitneyJul 13, 2016
The Infiltrator isn’t necessarily bad, it just has nothing unique, compelling, or memorable to offer in its over two-hour runtime. Read full review
50
Washington PostStephanie MerryJul 12, 2016
If the movie isn’t always gripping, it’s nevertheless a worthwhile examination of the intricacies of undercover life. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyJul 12, 2016
Director Brad Furman (Runner Runner, The Lincoln Lawyer) can’t mount a coherent scene even in a Scorsese-aping Steadicam long take, but with this ersatz sting flick, he’s made something so amateurish and baffling that it comes around to being memorable. Read full review
50
Village VoiceApril WolfeJul 12, 2016
Unfortunately, as he performs the acting equivalent of triple backflips, Cranston isn't given much of a safety net from the script or direction. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreJul 12, 2016
When all that’s taken into account, The Infiltrator feels like a TV mini series squished into two hours, with the budget, supporting cast and period piece compromises to match. Read full review
42
The Film StageDaniel SchindelJul 13, 2016
Sadly, as has consistently been the case with his recent film work, The Infiltrator gives Cranston basically nothing to do. Read full review
25
Slant MagazineElise NakhnikianJul 11, 2016
Its clunky incidents of exposition leave us with no real understanding of what anyone is thinking or feeling. Read full review
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