{"id":687423,"date":"2026-06-06T05:56:25","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T05:56:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/687423\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T05:56:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T05:56:25","slug":"mexico-86-review-diego-luna-scores-in-lightweight-world-cup-comedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/687423\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Mexico 86’ Review: Diego Luna Scores in Lightweight World Cup Comedy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tWith the FIFA World Cup literally kicking off next week in the U.S., Canada and Mexico \u2014 an unprecedented triple-nation collaboration that makes the last of those countries the first in history to host the soccer tournament a third time \u2014 Netflix<\/a>\u2018s release of \u201cMexico 86<\/a>\u201d is opportunistically timed. Unfolding largely off the pitch, Gabriel Ripstein<\/a>\u2018s loosely fact-based comedy (\u201cSome of these things did happen,\u201d an opening title card assures us) delves irreverently into the allegedly iffy backroom dealings that made Mexico the first two-time World Cup host 40 years ago. In the process, it prompts us to idly wonder if much has changed since then: Not itself in the grip of soccer fever, the film is a droll reminder of the sometimes ugly workings behind the beautiful game.<\/p>\n

\n\tNot that \u201cMexico 86\u201d is any kind of ruthless expos\u00e9. Buoyed by the scrappy, insistent charisma of a mustachioed Diego Luna<\/a> as Mart\u00edn de la Torre, the man chiefly responsible for securing his country its second World Cup gig before his inevitable downfall, Ripstein\u2019s film mostly portrays his story as a bit of a lark. De la Torre is shown lying and bribing his way into FIFA\u2019s good graces, but with a roguish underdog energy that we\u2019re invited to root for: He\u2019s just playing the same game as everyone else, it is implied, but with fewer resources and greater obstacles, he just plays it a little smarter than the rest. Until, well, he doesn\u2019t. <\/p>\n

\n\tWe first encounter De la Torre as a disgruntled employee in the Mexican Football Federation in the early 1980s, harboring lofty dreams for his country\u2019s international soccer-world profile, and frustrated by his superiors\u2019 lack of comparable ambition. When Colombia is forced to pull out of hosting the 1986 World Cup for political and economic reasons, De la Torre spots an opportunity \u2014 and secures an interview on national TV to denounce his bosses for not seizing it with both hands. It\u2019s a seemingly suicidal career move, but his chutzpah catches the eye of broadcast bigwig (and Club Am\u00e9rica chairman) Emilio Azc\u00e1rraga (the great Daniel Gim\u00e9nez Cacho, always an asset), who promptly promotes him to the head of the federation.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe film\u2019s paciest and most enjoyable stretch details the somewhat corrupt charm offensive that De la Torre put on at a FIFA conference in Zurich to determine the replacement host, which ultimately saw Mexico win more support than supposed frontrunners the United States. It\u2019s a victory that comes sooner in proceedings than expected, and \u201cMexico 86\u201d never quite regains that zip and momentum \u2014 though our hero obviously has plenty to do as the tournament approaches. Away from the office, his illicit relationship with his downstairs neighbor Susana (a sparky Karla Souza) puts paid to his marriage, before it, too, is compromised by his chronic aversion to honesty. Even this subplot, however, doesn\u2019t douse the film\u2019s affection for its protagonist.<\/p>\n

\n\tThough he projects the character\u2019s slightly disreputable air, Luna is sprightly and engaging enough that the film largely gets away with its chipper boys-will-be-boys approach. At a certain point, however, the tapdance routine feels dramatically counter-productive. The film elides so many details and specifics and conflicts as it breezes through over a decade of presumably knotty sports business in a blithe 90-odd minutes, it doesn\u2019t leave you with much to hold onto: Is the point that soccer is rotten, or that its\u2019s unifying enough for the rot not to matter, or simply that you\u2019ve got to love Diego Luna? <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMexico 86\u201d moves quickly enough that we don\u2019t think too pressingly about such things in the moment. Ripstein\u2019s second feature as director doesn\u2019t have the grit or urgency of his 2015 debut \u201c600 Miles\u201d \u2014 a stark cartel drama that was Mexico\u2019s international Oscar submission that year \u2014 but it confirms his skills as a smooth and confident stylist: The film\u2019s sandily desaturated lensing, aptly worn period production design and kitsch Latin pop soundtrack cues are all perfectly coordinated, and it moves to a rhythm that reflects De la Torre\u2019s own slick, slippery charm. As a study of how the World Cup sausage is made, the film could go deeper and dirtier; as a crowdpleaser about the business of crowdpleasing, it\u2019s more or less on point.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the FIFA World Cup literally kicking off next week in the U.S., Canada and Mexico \u2014 an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":687424,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[57176,88,298619,298620,206,217],"class_list":["post-687423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-diego-luna","tag-entertainment","tag-gabriel-ripstein","tag-mexico-86","tag-movies","tag-netflix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=687423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687423\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/687424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=687423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=687423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=687423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}