Centauro, Another Spanish Movie on Netflix That Misses Opportunities

Part of the Spanish cinema (and there are suspicions that the audience) are eager for action-packed productions. Grim engines and stories are almost clichéd in some films. The cinema is full of stories in this style, in which the main character starts from one point, strives for the ideal, and ends up completely different than his aspiration. This is the case Centaurdirector’s last film Daniel Calparsoroavailable in Netflix.

East movie plays a major role Alex Monner, Begona Vargas D Carlos Barden. Monner plays a motorcycle racer who aspires to be part of a competitive team. Vargas is his partner, with whom he has a son. The knot of the story occurs when she is involved in drug trafficking, and he must take part in this context, with Bardem as one of the villains of the story: a shadow that haunts and pressures him, among other things.

Centauro is not a deep story, it does not come close to narcos regarding his connection to drug trafficking. And it’s not easy to call Hurry, one of the most compelling films in terms of motorsport-related plots. It’s also a far cry from action movies with resonance. His proposal is simple. It shouldn’t be. This is an easier story.

Centaurplot without major complications

The evolution of the character, played by Alex Monner, goes from one point to another without much difficulty in between. Is it a defect? a matter of taste The detail is that while it’s simple, it doesn’t stop throwing up some surprises along the way.. They are not presented in the most spectacular or unexpected way, some even remain a hasty denouement of the script. But in the context of the film, it works.

Alex Monner puts a pilot in charge, who must drive day and night to fulfill his dream in the morning and escape the police at night, loading various drug shipments from one point to another. His criminal work begins with one point: to save a partner under an agreement that, of course, is violated at some point. Thus, he must stop being a passive subject in order to become one who also moves his pieces.

movie pays too much attention to his activities, leaving aside the history of criminals or his own partner, whom he plays Begoña Vargas, who dazzles every second on screen and, in particular, she is convincing in regards to her dialogues. Although the last aspect doesn’t help either: it’s not a film with outstanding lyrics. It does its job: speeds up and offers simple entertainment. This is a constant that Daniel Calparsoro brings up, including in the miniseries. Operation Black Tide.

Permission problem

Centaur he rushes to resolve the character’s main conflict: how can he find a life away from his criminal side. In a competitive world like motorsport, after making a mistake, you get another chance. The one taken by the police. It all happens quickly, with no dialogue to give context, it all comes down to some whim or intuition. The same is true in your relationship with the law.

A wanted criminal only needs a couple of comments to get into the law enforcement agencies, how so? One would think that the police valued the abilities of the character commissioned by Alex Monner much more than the motorcycle racing teams. This is not a creative or contextual decision within production. So, although surprisingly unexpected, it lacks logic when viewed from a distance.

It’s as if the speed at which he becomes the main character was the same as the screenwriter’s when writing, leaving no room for subplots or various events that stay in the viewer’s mind and then integrate effectively. This last aspect is constant in the Centauro. Every topic, family, sports, drug trafficking, among others, is half done.

East movie available from June 15, 2022 on Netflix..