Created by Chris Brancato, Eric Newman, Carlo Barnard, and Doug Miro, the three seasons of the series Narcos managed to capture the emergence of the drug crisis in Latin America by focusing on two key characters: "Pablo Escobar of the Medellín Cartel and "Gilberto Rodríguez" of the Cali Cartel. Before the premiere of its spin-off, Narcos: Mexico, the series was considered one of Netflix's most ambitious original projects and also one of its most acclaimed. As proof here we list some of the most notable reviews it earned.
Narcos: These Are The Critic Reviews
Released on August 28, 2015, the first season of Narcos drew the attention of critics thanks to the approach they made to the life of "Pablo Escobar" (Played by Wagner Moura) and the US agents who were in charge of bringing down his criminal empire (Pedro Pascal and Boyd Holbrook).
The New York Times described it as "an irresistible drama," while emphasizing Moura's performance. For Moura's part, The Hollywood Reporter differentiated Narcos from the rest of the on-screen interpretations of the life of the Medellín cartel boss by his "impressive breadth and depth."
The British newspaper The Independent even compared it to another of the great hits of contemporary television, Breaking Bad. "Not since Walter White and Jesse Pinkman's last batch of blue crystal meth has Netflix offered up a crime and drugs drama quite this addictive," wrote Matilda Battersby.
Variety placed Narcos on the level of Martin Scorsese's classic gangster film Goodfellas, saying it "offers a heavily narrated, first-person account of the rise of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, and the DEA's attempt to thwart him," in a "taut, gripping narrative."
The Third and Final Season of Narcos is The Most Highly Praised
Curiously, the third and final season of the series - the one that is not solely focused on Escobar but instead on the rise of the Cali Cartel - is the best rated by critics with a whopping 97% on Rotten Tomatoes.
"The drug war might be lost, but the best version of this show is found," wrote Liz Shannon on IndieWire. She added, "It is one of the great examples of shows that have improved thanks to the opportunity to grow and evolve, and Season 3 continues that journey with an investment in human storytelling."
CNN's Brian Lowery highlighted the fact that "Netflix has offered higher-profile series, but none better or more addictive." Salon's Melanie McFarland even acknowledged that Narcos "uses the downfall of the Cali syndicate in the late 1990s to rectify some of the first and second season's more significant flaws while indulging in other over-the-top tendencies that make it a mainstay of the gangster drama genre."
Do you agree with the praise for Netflix's Narcos? What do you think about it?
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