The Wasp Network is a thriller film directed by Olivier Assayas. The plot sees a group of Cuban defectors, who aren’t actually defectors, infiltrate multiple anti-Castro group to destroy them from within.
This film is confusing. Until the last 20 minutes I had no idea what was going on, the film does not explain what is happening very well and the characters go from anti-Castro to Cuban patriots in a heartbeat. It needs to be explained better.
What’s more the film feels strangely pro Castro as a piece of art and almost seems to say that these people were heroes for what they did, it makes Cuba look like the victim and ignore a lot of the terrible things the regime did. It is very murky as to who if anyone was in the right in the situation and the issue as a whole was far more complex than this film makes out.
Another thing I disliked about this film was how long it was. This film is on for just over two hours, but it feels like double that as it stretches on and on and on. Furthermore a lot of what is happening on screen isn’t interesting, so it is very hard to pay attention to it. There are vast sections of this film that could easily have been cut out, to make it work well and feel less self-indulgent.
Overall, a boring slog that has a very strange message.
Pros.
The acting especially Cruz and Ramirez.
Cons.
It is hard to tell what is going on
It far exceeds its welcome
It omits key details
It is incredibly boring
1/5
Reviewed by Luke
Another Millennial Reviewer 