Introduction to The Informer Netflix Movie Review
The Informer movie has been ranked as one of the top 10 Netflix movies for some time now. Out of curiosity, I decided to check out this film first to see what was the draw of the movie, and second, to find out if the movie deserved to stay in the top 10 slot for as long as it has.
What did I find out about Tthe Informer Netflix movie? Was I impressed with it?
How about you? Have you watched The Informer Netflix movie? Should you? Check out my film review of the Netflix movie, The Informer to find out.
Plot of The Informer Netflix Movie
The title of the Netflix movie, The Informer is pretty much self-explanatory. From the title, you probably know that the storyline involves someone (Joel Kinnaman as Peter Koslow) being an informant to either the police or the FBI.
What you may not know is the twist in the movie, The Informer, that comes towards the end of the film that puts Joel Kinnaman’s character in grave peril, especially considering where he was located -- in a crowded dangerous prison.
The above being said, the Netflix movie, The Informer is about a former prison inmate who served a few years and was released early on probation to serve as an informant for the FBI. As an informer, he would keep the FBI in the know about dealings with unlawful drugs as well as the people involved in these criminal activities.
After being an undercover FBI drug informant in the streets, he was asked to find out who was the drug distributor in a prison from a drug kingpin who probably wanted to know who his competition was.
Initially, Joel Kinnaman’s character was reluctant to return to prison as an undercover informant, since he had already served time before. Additionally, he now has a wife and a daughter.
However, the FBI convinced him wth the promise of freedom if he went along with the drug kingpin's plan since they too had an interest in finding out who was doing these criminal drug deeds in prison.
Twist in The Informer Netflix Movie
The Netflix movie, The Informer reminded me of a film I watched previously, dealing with the issue of trust. The movie is Uncharted where it was difficult for the main character to decide who was worth his trust and who would deceive him.
Spoiler Alert: By the same token, even though Joel Kinnaman’s character agreed to this one last informant job inside prison, he was actually double-crossed by the FBI agents due to the negative publicity surrounding him as well as the relentless investigation by Common as Edward Grens of the NYPD regarding a crime involving another informant.
In other words, Joel Kinnerman’s character appeared to become a liability to the FBI and he was expected to face dire consequences, especially since the FBI would no longer help him if he got in danger.
Joel Kinnaman’s character found out about the double-cross when he called one of the FBI agents from prison requesting help and only got silence on the other end of the phone. From that point on, it was up to him to save himself inside this dangerous prison.
Movie Magic in The Informer Netflix Movie
There are several unexplained and illogical incidents that occurred during the Netflix movie, The Informer, which I’ve listed below.
–Since the informant was wired, he was keeping tapes of his conversations with the FBI. It seemed to me that he should have known that eventually, the FBI would ask for the tapes, so the question is why didn't he make copies of the tapes and hide them somewhere.
–Once in prison, Joel Kinnaman’s character hid a razor in his pillow and was surprised to later find out that somehow, it was missing. In subsequent prison scenes, you see him fighting against a man who took the razor, but he is using a letter opener instead of the razor.
–When Joel Kinnaman’s character got into a fight with one of the inmates in a crowded bunk bed room, how could all the other inmates first ignore what was going on and towards the end of the fight, the scene showed empty beds. It appears to me, someone would have intervened to stop the fight.
–If the FBI agent Rosamund Pike as Erica Wilcox recognized who was on the gurney as it left the building mainly by the tattoos on Joel Kinnaman character's arm, why didn’t the police officers, SWAT team and others notice, especially, since they were probably briefed as to what the informer looked like.
–After the catastrophic fire in the prison tower toward the end of the movie, how did Joel Kinnaman’s character escape the explosion with no more than minor cuts and bruises.
–Spoiler Alert: Last but not least, how could a seasoned FBI agent at the end of the movie just assume that the person he was talking to was not wired, since it seems that this is one of the main ways the FBI catches or tricks their suspects.
There may be more movie magic moments in the Netflix movie, The Informer, but I will stop here.
Realism of The Informer Netflix Movie
Due to the adequate and skilled acting abilities of the actors, including Ana de Armas as the informer’s wife, Sophia Koslow, the film had a hint of realism to it. The casting staff did a good job of selecting the villains, and other characters to make this seem like a believable story, even though we all know the Netflix movie, The Informer is fiction.
Assessment of The Informer Netflix Movie
If you enjoy watching action movies with an FBI backdrop, you may want to check out The Informer Netflix movie. There are some gruesome, gritty scenes in the movie, which you may or may not like, but the good news is you can turn your head away from the screen during these parts.
The Informer Netflix movie may be rough and gritty, but at the end of the day, the film is just actors playing pretend with props and maybe a touch of Computer-Generated Imagery - CGI mixed in.
Even more importantly, this film kept my interest from the beginning to the end. As a result, I understood why it held its spot in the top 10 Netflix movie category for so long.
Rating of The Informer Netflix Movie
Based on a rating of 1 star to 5 stars with 5 stars being the highest, I rate The Informer Netflix movie 5 stars.