GUERRILLA RADIO
The fictional island of Yara is as beautiful as it is predictable. There are sunny beaches, friendly locals serving street food you’re for some reason not allowed to buy, and sharks in the water that want to take a bite out of you. The music you hear blasting from homes and cars is upbeat, there’s constantly a a party vibe in the air, and there are wild horses you can actually ride.
That’s where Yara’s uniqueness ends and an uneasy sense of parody begins, for me. While Ubisoft is determined to make Giancarlo Esposito’s despot, Antón Castillo, feel like a real and credible threat, he’s more of a satirical mash-up of Franco and Castro. He’s definitely a bad guy, with a vision for his country that he holds above all – even family, as he often reminds his son and protégé, Diego – but there’s a two-dimensional vibe I just can’t shake. We’ll have to come back to him later.
