SteinMo What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Skyler Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Leftbanker Hijos de puta todos. They were all bastards: the fascists against the ultra-violent Basque separatists of ETA. El Lobo does a fine job of walking the fine line that separated the two factions at that time. It's a movie that could only have been made at this late stage in the history of Spain, a post cease-fire between the ETA and the Spanish government has given rise to a great deal of criticism of both sides in the conflict.A fantastic story based loosely on real events, top notch acting, and a faithful period piece of a dark chapter in Spanish history, El Lobo has many of the attributes of a classic work of cinema. What prevents it from breaking into the top ranks of action thrillers is that it sort of misses the boat on the few real action sequences in the movie. The fire fights just weren't as exciting as they could have been which is a shame because the rest of the movie is excellent.

CurtHerzstark Based on the true story of undercover agent Mikel Lejarza who infiltrated the basque terrorist network ETA in the 70's.How accurate this film is I cannot say but as far as actionthrillers goes it has surprisingly depth, script and direction above genre standards. The acting is also very good, even down to small supporting roles.Instead of just delivering easy answers, lame dialogue or bad acting this film asks us questions such as, how the state handles terrorism, how far are you willing to go to reach ones goals, and also about integrity.This film is without heroes, the main character José María 'Txema' Loigorry / El Lobo (played by Eduardo Noriega) gets forced into this and doesn't really want to be involved.And his superiors? They are the fascist government lead by no other then dictator Franco who rules Spain with ruthless power.ETA on the other hand is a terrorist network plagued by inner turmoil, endless discussions about what to do when Franco is gone, and wouldn't be better if ETA put down there guns and became a political party instead? Mix these above themes and add lots of action, sex and you get very well made action thriller pretty far from say, The Bourne Identity (2002).

andrabem "El Lobo" tells the real story of a government agent that during the 70s (during the time when Franco is dying and a time of change is coming in Spain) infiltrates the ETA (a separatist terrorist organization). It's a very dangerous mission and this film succeeds in portraying the tension and perplexity of the agent (codename Lobo - wolf in English) and the doubts that the new times to come arouse inside the ETA and in Spain.This is a fast-paced thriller that unlike its American counterparts doesn't tell us who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. We see the idealism in ETA militants that lead them to indiscriminate killing and the opportunism of the government circles. Instead of giving us a ready-made solution the film poses questions that linger in our mind. For instance: with the coming of democracy wouldn't it be better to give up armed struggle and become an organized party? This generates conflicts inside ETAs leading circles and the agent Lobo is inside this turmoil.Today with the crescent European integration these questions are still valid. Is it necessary to fight for old ideals that have lost its reason of being or wouldn't it be better to adapt to the new times where integration is the password? In a few sketches, the agent Lobo, the ETA militants, the government officials, the mood in Spain, are drawn in a realistic way and give us a feeling of real persons and events.Rent this film. "El Lobo" is very intense and sometimes desperate (like the 70s in Spain). New times are coming. What shall we do? What will happen?

newland80 Although political thrillers are habitual in American cinema, Spanish cinema has been less inclined to translate our past and present conflicts into film. The conflict with Basque separatist group ETA has been depicted a bunch of times in the last few decades, but very seldom as acutely as Miguel Courtois does with "El Lobo".Based on the true story of a Basque man who managed to reach ETA's highest leaders undercover, the film presents a poignant vision of the Basque conflict which is neither black nor white. This has so many shades and gray areas that the viewer has no other option than to give it second thoughts.Eduardo Noriega has proved himself as a worthy leading man in the past, and his Basque accent here is more than acceptable. The supporting cast benefits from a few great actors playing bit parts (Roger Pera, Saturnino García...) but many of the important supporting characters are clichéd or underwritten (what can Silvia Abascal do with her character?). The writing is brave and raises important questions, which is a point in favor. However, they could have avoided a few stereotypes with some advise from just anyone familiar with the Basque Country. In any case, this is a worthy film and worth watching if only for the value of the questions it raises.