El Niño possesses all the ingredients for an efficacious and addictive thriller. The eye-catching start – exploiting transit sights and sounds – ratchets up the tension and is followed by some action-packed drama, intriguing insights and able performances.

Regrettably the outcome is diluted by a dearth of viciousness, laced with an excess of plot and cut by an erratic production fluctuating between the admirable and mediocre. The screenplay every so often betrays its construction; meanwhile the tone is further undermined by an unpalatable and corny soundtrack which renders the love story excruciating and tense moments weak.

El Niño is a mixed concoction. Ample action scenes inject the chaos and thrill of the drug trade, but the film struggles to maintain a consistent tone and the jarring soundtrack ultimately kills any buzz.

RATING: 2/5

INFORMATION

CAST: Luis Tosar, Jesús Castro, Ian McShane, Eduard Fernández, Sergi López

DIRECTOR: Daniel Monzón

WRITERS: Daniel Monzón, Jorge Guerricaechevarría

SYNOPSIS: As Detective Jesús (Tosar) confronts a drug ring operating through the Gibraltar Straits and the prospect of a police informer, he crosses paths with small-time trafficker El Niño (Castro) and his enterprising friends. Both protagonists pursue their respective goals while navigating multifarious personal and professional relationships.