Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Narcopolis

Play trailer 2:07 Poster for Narcopolis Released Oct 2, 2015 1h 36m Mystery & Thriller Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
18% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 25% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
In the near future, Frank, a police officer, discovers that the legalization of all recreational drugs comes with a price.

Critics Reviews

View All (11) Critics Reviews
Sara Michelle Fetters MovieFreak.com Narcopolis never rises above mediocre as far as story is concerned, building to a supposedly slam-bang stunner of a finish that's nowhere near as inspired as I think the director intends it to be. Rated: 2/4 Aug 22, 2016 Full Review Michael Rechtshaffen Los Angeles Times "Narcopolis" starts off intriguingly and ends solidly. It's everything else in between that isn't particularly compelling. Oct 1, 2015 Full Review Abby Garnett Village Voice There's simply too much going on to establish characters. More upsettingly - being that this is a sci-fi film - it's impossible to tell what the cool parts are supposed to be. Sep 29, 2015 Full Review John Bleasdale CineVue A film titled Narcopolis really should be more fun than Nancy Reagan's 'Just Say No' campaign. Rated: 2/5 Apr 6, 2019 Full Review Abbie Bernstein Assignment X We get strong acting, but it's in the service of what turns out to be a pretty standard police and corruption drama beneath promising sci-fi trappings. Rated: C+ Dec 7, 2018 Full Review Jennifer Heaton Alternative Lens The pacing is drab, the plot incredibly predictable (including all the huge 'twist' moments), and the whole production has an amateurish veneer ... Rated: 4/10 Nov 2, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (15) audience reviews
Audience Member Difficult story to follow. Too many underdeveloped characters involved. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/09/20 Full Review Audience Member I wanted to like it but it never came together. Sometimes simpler is better. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Certainly the mood and style of this film is worthy of a mention, but the futuristic dystopian time-travel storyline is woeful. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member There's like eight different fantastic premises at work her, not a one of which is executed effectively. Though there was some aspects to enjoy, Narcopolis unfortunately commits the cardinal sin of the entertainment industry: It's boring. Not from start to end, but frequently, particularly in the first two acts. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member It was a bit confusing at times, but it was better than having to work. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Audience Member Justin Trefgarne has his first cinematic debut with the crowdfunded Narcopolis; a sci-fi drama about a future where drugs have been not only legalized, but are being pushed by corporate backers as being a safe alternative to street narcotics. There were several things I really liked about this film, despite being what most people would consider a low budget type of film. First, as a science fiction, it brings a very unique idea to the audience. Although the majority of the film is in the detective style of neo-noir films, the concept is a solid one. Imagine a future, where the majority of citizens are not only using, but encouraged to do so though advertising and product guarantees. Narcotics are available in every society I can think of, but very few of them have been privatized outside of the prescription drug market. There is some decent acting, and I was particularly impressed by Eliot Cowan's portrayal as the protagonist Frank Grieves; who portrayed a massive and daunting man, battling his own demons, while progressing through a series of bizarre events. The things that most people will notice are the poorly written plot twists, and dialogue. Some of the twists that are meant to shock the audience fall quite flat during this film, or are revealed at the wrong times. Perhaps due to poor direction or writing execution, it's hard to say, but there are several scenes that make little to no sense in the overall plot. A few of the actors are new, and you can tell in the way they exchange dialogue. Yet if you can look past these scene errors and look at the overall film, I think you'll be quite pleased at the end result. I encourage more films from Justin Trefgarn and hope he keeps to the same genre. I especially enjoyed the opening of the film, which set quite a pace that I wished that the rest of the movie kept up to. Needless to say, it's a very technically sound Sci-Fiction / Drama, but most viewers will hold it to perhaps too high a standard. An excellent first entry along the lines of 'Equilibrium' (2002). 2.5/5 Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Narcopolis

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Automata 31% 30% Automata Watchlist Anon 38% 35% Anon Watchlist TRAILER for Anon Midnight Special 83% 67% Midnight Special Watchlist TRAILER for Midnight Special Branded 9% 24% Branded Watchlist TRAILER for Branded Reversion 38% 20% Reversion Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis In the near future, Frank, a police officer, discovers that the legalization of all recreational drugs comes with a price.
Director
Justin Trefgarne
Producer
Daniel-Konrad Cooper, Elliot Cowan, Justin Trefgarne, Paula Turnbull, Eldar Tuvey
Screenwriter
Justin Trefgarne
Distributor
IFC Films
Genre
Mystery & Thriller, Sci-Fi
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 2, 2015, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 4, 2017
Runtime
1h 36m