New on Netflix - Narcoworld - Dope Stories

The way this show is made is fast-paced and overall a great ride. However, a lot of the footage that the cameramen are granted seems a little fake and I can't really imagine the criminal underworld allowing such tremendous access to their locations, tactics, and of course the fact that all of them are caught on camera committing high crimes.

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Narcoworld is a series, but each of the individual stories focuses on a different type of drug trade. For example: Episode one is focused on the cross-border meth trade on the US / Mexico border and later episodes take us to Brazil and Spain. All of the episodes have two angles: A camera crew with the cops and one inside the business of the dealers and traffickers.

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Any time the criminals are on camera they are all wearing masks and concealing their identities for the most part. Every now and then some really bold person only covers half of their face. The entire process of smuggling gets broken down for the camera crews in great detail including how they outfit cars to get drugs across the border. This is where the show seems a bit fake to me.

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You expect me to believe that they have cameras on the driver, while going through customs and this doesn't ring some sort of alarm for border patrol? Sorry, gotta call BS on this.

The police raids and what not seem more genuine, but even some of those seem at least partly staged. While I find it believable that the tactics used on both sides of the equation are in-fact like this, I don't believe that the footage that we are shown during the program is actually the real thing, as they claim. It just pans out too perfectly for the overall narrative.

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I think what is more likely is that some of the street footage is genuine (the shaky stuff) but the stills and interviews of the criminals and their methods of breaking the law - I think a lot of that is faked. Of course for now there is no way to confirm or deny this either way because Netflix is sticking by the claim that it is real. For me I just can't imagine dealers being ok with their business tactics being revealed to the general public including some very specific locations and quite identifiable vehicles.

Why would the cartels / dealers / distributors be ok with being filmed doing this? Their entire capability to operate is based on secrecy so it just seems really unlikely to me that they would be ok with a film crew being around even if they do hide their faces and other distinguishing features.

You'll have to judge for yourself. I am apprehensive to believe these sorts of things because I have been duped by Netflix in the past with other "docuseries." Even if the footage isn't real, the stories are entertaining nonetheless and therefore, this is worth watching. There are only 4, 40-minute episodes after-all.

My overall rating!