Film review - Infiltrated (2018)

Following accusations of numerous war crimes in Bosnia, recently demoted Sgt Barry Craig (Tam Toye) is assigned by Military Intelligence to go undercover as a bodyguard for Glasgow crime boss John Masterson.  His task is to infiltrate the underworld syndicate, destroying the group from within, and is incentivised to hone in on their drug ring with having his rank reinstated if successful.  He works his way up to head of security in the wake of the deaths of some of Masterson's heavies, although ultimately proves to be so good at his job that his colleagues become suspicious of him.

Along the way he bonds with Masterson's receptionist (Nichola Hosie), who appears to be more than just a pretty face and a potential love interest for our hero.  This leads to Craig himself realising his game is up and is on borrowed time to both take the gang down and escape unscathed.  Whether he can do it alone or with help from a young crop of soldiers, alleged to be a par below the SAS, is enough to keep the viewer on their toes.

The story itself is well written, if at times predictable.  It's a straight-forward plot to follow without fear of becoming over-complicated.  Being set in Glasgow will especially allow British audiences to identify and even relate to the majority of the characters.  The film's strength is its ability to keep the viewer hooked.  Honestly, if you allow ten minutes to settle in you won't want to press pause, thus the pacing will hook you along for the ride.  That said, a number of imperfections quickly become evident.

What stands out the most is a lot of over-acting from the principal cast, through over-the-top facial and verbal expressions.  Rather than being put use as an advantage, the low budget becomes a detriment through the blatant use of inconsistent editing and explosive special effects - the latter of which must be seen to be believed!  As a result the necessary suspense of reality for all stories gets lost in the process.  A bigger budget would likely have enhanced production values, however we may also not be reading about it today either as it will have been lost in a shuffle of similar movies.

A number of questions are brought up upon the film's conclusion, namely what type of genre is it?  Is it a thriller or is it a comedy? (Had this been picked up by the BBC, it may have been broken up in to thirds and have a laughter track added on to it)  And should we dislike the antagonists or be impressed by them?  The gang members often appear the most engaging characters.  The written narrative feels straight but the overall output screams a tongue-in-cheek demeanour, so one otherwise doesn't get to take it as seriously.

I'd give this a five out of ten for plot and pace alone.  The film really does suffer from lack of budget, hindering a lot of believability, although it never once gets boring and remains at a healthy length of under two hours.  Time will be kind to 'Infiltrated' as it has the barings of becoming a cult classic.