Just to reiterate what I said when I wrote about Pablo: I’m talking about Félix strictly as a character here. As a person, he’s horrible, but as a character he’s endlessly fascinating. I got way deeper into Narcos: Mexico than I did Narcos, and like 80% of that is down to Félix (premise spoilers.)
Right from his introduction, we’re shown the ways that Félix is both similar to and different from his Colombian counterparts in the original series. Like the other narcos, he smart, ambitious, and determined. Like Pablo, he comes from a humble background – part of the reason his operation is able to rise so quickly is because no one thinks a bunch of “Sinoloan farmers” would be able to accomplish what they do. Like the Cali folks, he has a strong head for business and can very willingly show you projection charts for his drug enterprise. But Félix sets himself apart too. The very first time we see him, he’s wearing a police uniform. The “drug arrest” he makes is fake, getting Rafa out of a jam with some actual cops, but the uniform is real: before he got into the marijuana game, he worked as a police officer. This is a surprising bit of backstory that frankly never gets enough play in the series, and that clever opening trick with Rafa sets up a lot about who Félix is.
It’s no stretch to say that Félix is the smartest narco we’ve met on either show. More than a drug trafficker, he’s a visionary – he’s the one who comes up with the idea to unite all the major traffickers in Mexico into a single federation, reducing violence/infighting and increasing profits for everyone. First with marijuana, capitalizing on Rafa’s botanical expertise, and later with cocaine that they run between Colombia and the U.S., Félix sets up multi-city cartel operating in numerous plazas that are all overseen by him.
He also frequently thinks five steps ahead, which serves him well when his tightly-run organization starts to wobble. Félix is hyper-focused on expansion, efficiency, and great acquisition of power, and he’s largely above the petty bullshit that we’ve seen plenty of narcos get sucked into. Unfortunately for him, a lot of the families in the federation are absolutely drawn to petty bullshit, so when they inevitably fall into grudges and retaliation, it’s up to him to get them back in line without bringing down the whole house of cards. Similarly, Félix mostly avoids impulsivity, but the same can’t be said for his partners, including the politicians in his pocket. When the politicians clumsily panic in response to possible exposure, bringing more heat on all of them, Félix repeatedly digs deep to find a way to pivot, saving his own ass along with anyone who’s still useful to him.
That last point is an important one. Although Félix starts as a warmer, more collaborative character, his journey ultimately becomes one of self-interest. Maybe it’s because he keeps having to break up boneheaded squabbles or clean up the rash mistakes of jittery politicians, or maybe it’s because his vision is continually expanding upward and outward and no one else seems to see the possibilities that he does. Whatever the reason, other people’s voices begin to count less to him. His patience for other people’s screw-ups starts to wane, and as he shores up his own power, he’s less attached to sticking his neck out for people who he thinks are getting in the way of that. The transformation is really engrossing to watch, because the slide begins so slowly and then picks up speed. By the time it’s all said and done, he’s proven himself to be incredibly ruthless, not erratically violent/retaliatory like Pablo but coldly, clinically so. The balancing act he has in managing the plazas, finessing his position with the Colombians, and pacifying the politicians is like a chess game to him, and there are few moves he won’t make if he sees the value in it.
I have more, spoilery thoughts on Félix for another day, but for now, I can’t end this post without shouting out Diego Luna. He’s just so, so good. It’s remarkably subtle work but just amazingly effective. He’s magnetic to watch in the role, like hold-your-breath magnetic during his best showcase scenes. I went into this show with a lot of affection for Luna, but I came out of it completely wowed by him. He does such a fantastic job of allowing Félix to be as horrible as he is while still being endlessly fascinating.
* * *
The
reviews are in, and hot damn, Shang-Chi!
(Be
warned, while I don't think any of the reviews I've read spoil anything
monumental, some of them divulged more than I expected, and without
spoiler warnings. Eventually, I started skimming, just looking for the parts that talk about the acting. Click according to your comfort level.)
While not as breathlessly excited as a lot of the first reactions, taking more time to point out the film’s flaws, plenty of the reviews go into all kinds of depth about why Tony Leung Chiu-wai/Wenwu steals the whole damn thing. My main takeaways from the reviews were 1) Leung did not need to bring it so hard in this movie, but 2) we’re all blessed that he did. Some choice quotes:
“Put simply, Leung never does too much in a scene, and he conveys subdued romantic longing better than almost any actor in the last 40 years. Here, he gives what is probably the best-ever performance in a superhero movie, certainly for a villain.”
“Tony Leung’s performance as antagonist is searing, singular, and faceted; perhaps the best MCU villain to-date.”
“Leung is suave, restrained and powerful. He is able to convey centuries worth of rage and heartbreak with the slightest of glances.”
“Leung is one of those performers who moves through the frame with impossible grace and sometimes doesn’t move at all; if there are other actors who can express more by doing less, who can so magnetize the camera with a flicker of an eyebrow, they aren’t coming to mind.”
“Wenwu is a supervillain who’s lived a life of crime and conquest, and in every scene, Leung imbues him with cool confidence. He’s equal parts charismatic and menacing, as if daring his scene partner to challenge him. Every line sounds like it comes with a knowing smirk.”
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