Narcopolis (2015) User Reviews (12)

A Technically Sound Sci-Fi Drama

[kdavies-69347 · 5/10 · 12 January 2016]

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 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).

5/10

Confused

[Saiph90 · 4/10 · 14 August 2016]

I love near future science fiction, Philip K Dick and 'Do androids dream of electric sheep' subsequently turned into 'Blade Runner' both are up there with my favourite book and film. This film wants to have the same atmosphere as 'Blade Runner' the story revolves around in the near future all drugs are legal and a corporation is hovering up the profits with the police in its pocket. A detective known as a DREK is there to take out illegal drug seller. A body he discovers does not have an identifiable DNA. So why a 4, the dialogue is messy the plot confusing, several scenes simply add nothing to the story. This film really needed a firmer and tighter director as the result is disjointed and at times just confusing.

Could not hear the dialogue.

[guylyons · 4/10 · 23 February 2017]

I decided to watch this film, on a wet and windy day. Much as i tried it was very difficult to hear the dialogue, and this common problem persists with many films, on offer on film packages ( sky movies etc ). What makes this problem so frustrating, is that numbers of films are allowed to be made with this handicap. I gave up after 20 minutes, as it looked interesting. H B O or Home Box Office create wonderful drama programmes, and unfortunate mugs like me, suffer from great expectations, all because we believe that being able to hear the spoken word.should be possible Rating ....4

Shark Sandwich

[hortonstrip · 1/10 · 18 February 2016]

SPOILER ALERT! Eh? How in hell would you spoil this film? It's doing fine on it's own. It would be like taking a pooh on a pooh. (not bear on bear action there, just trying to sideswipe the no swearing rule)

SO: Last weekend me and a few friends listened to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAmQ7RsNAE4

23 times in a row, laughing our tits off, and wondering "why?"

My guess is this film is a low rent version of that record, and without it's wit or humour

Somebody somewhere had a love of science fiction, a lot of bad drugs, too much money, and decided to build this folly. Unlike Ringo the result wasn't pleasurable in any way (i'm being over dramatic for effect - the camera is occasionally lovely, that's why this review isn't merely a complaint about why IMDb doesn't offer a drop down 0 out of 10) but still the same question remains; "why?"

Did you see my last sentence? Did you see how it didn't quite work? Maybe it was because the brackets were too long, maybe it was irrelevant, maybe it was a smelling error, maybe it was just time travel or i've been a terrible father messing things up for no reason, maybe it was that I'M NOT A WRITER

That's this film. It doesn't work on any level at all. it's a bit like someone with too much money and drugs just went "i've got this bag of half-erst science fiction thriller memes, let's just place them artfully in this vase", but the vase was made of Ketamine so when they opened the bag the memes just went EVERYWHERE at random, and the money would have been better spent on a flower arranging course.

WHY? You can work the equipment, but as my friend Gregory always said "musicians should make music, plumbers should do plumbing" Whoever made this: Film- making is not your skill. Well done for trying, but maybe take that flower arranging course.

Poor Science

[mcobley · 3/10 · 3 April 2016]

I struggled from the beginning.

Even if you can cope with, Legalised all drugs idiocy, (we would self destruct within a year if all drugs were legalized. There is a reason why no one in any form or authority should be on drugs, whether that is someone driving, to the leader of a country....all drugs legal... really?), but yes getting pass this premise. Its like all common sense left the scientific adviser.

Car number plates with bar codes? Oh my. You can see it now, local law enforcement, "Excuse me ma'am, can you tell me the car number plate from the robbery."...."Sure, it was a thick line, with small space, followed by a thicker line, no...that's not right, it was a thinner line." Again, no common sense.

Oh and his cool visor that sees temperature of the corpse....he moves around to see it from different angles, then cuts back to him having not moved at all.

Sad to say, i couldn't get through this film......

after watching this "sleeper" i now suffer from narcolepsy!

[MikaOznam · 5 July 2016]

Drugs and time travel - that's like ham and eggs right? Can't have one without the other correct? a perfect marriage

True but after watching this mess, even a liter of black coffee couldn't keep me from dozing off to slumber city in parallel universe

Narcopolis ( "Narcopolice"? ) just loses itself in trying to tie too many loose ends that seem to be caught in a vortex of bad Sy Fy writing where no hack has gone beyond.

Hate being hard on a movie - regardless of budget, it is still someone's creative sweat equity - but this is a real stinker

But if you are suffering from insomnia...this might be the right drug for ya.

Overcomplicated

[deloudelouvain · 4/10 · 20 January 2023]

I like this genre so I gave Narcopolis a try, even after reading the negative reviews. I should have listened to them though. The story is way too complicated to make sense, a lot of plot holes, unanswered questions, and an ending that is absolutely not satisfying. I was going to be generous and give it a five but because of the ending I changed that to a four. The production is of low quality. The filming is okay, the sound editing not great, the sountrack is just bad, and the acting is just average. But even with a higher budget you couldn't make a good movie with a story like this one. The idea was there, the execution wasn't.

Messy. So potential and so messy.

[mindspec · 7/10 · 4 October 2015]

I would have given it 7 stars for the plot and idea, but this movie so very messy. I just can't help but giving it five. The characters lack depth, the scenery is very messy and the plot is just so tangled you just find it hard to keep track of the conversations and all the events that take place in the movie. This is generally a fun and refreshing sci fi thriller that deals with a shady future and it that sense the setup does look gray and depressing. The problem is with the characters who lack depth and it's not easy to figure out their background - with messy flashbacks not being as clear as they perhaps were meant to be. The story is somewhat tangled and has a few unexplained holes with conversations that are vague and unclear and characters behaving unreasonably.

It's a movie that deserves a good word but somehow the mess just ruins the party and when the movie ends, you just have this empty feeling of "oh it ended... I didn't even notice it until the credits appeared".

Carefully crafted, Technically sound, Drama-centric Science Fiction Thriller... Rewatchability: Strong Blu-ray: Very Good A:10 V:9

[lathe-of-heaven · 8/10 · 2 October 2015]

***EDIT

2018-01-21

Okay, I just re-watched this, and I do NOT know what the hell I was smokin' when I originally reviewed this, but quite honestly this film a near masterpiece! Serious 'Hard' Science Fiction, well done, beautifully conceptualized. I cannot understand for the life of me why the average rating for this film is only 4.4 at this moment. This is truly one of THE very best Sci Fi films that I have seen in a very long time. Powerful, effective, and most DEFINITELY engaging!

*******

Clearly, the director and everyone involved poured their hearts into the making of this film. The performances are quite good. It's an interesting touch that the boy and the Mother in the film are in actuality the wife and son of the director. The boy is particularly good in his role, and although not really having much experience in heavy duty acting, he really did an outstanding job, especially in his scenes with his screen Dad.

The cinematography was also very good with some nice shots of futuristic looking buildings from different countries in contrast with some rather stark UK interior shots. Apparently, they had VERY little money to work with, but considering that, I thought they did an EXCELLENT job of putting this movie together. The editing and pacing are good. I particularly liked the sound design. I thought that it fit the scenes really well with a nice mix of Industrial and moody backgrounds that were quite effective.

The director mentions in his commentary that he deliberately left the last act and the ending slightly ambiguous, which is fine. I don't mind ambiguous endings at all, and I felt the film ended on just the right note... Another great example of a similarly themed movie (although having to do with memory) is the excellent French film 'CHRYSALIS' (2007) which I would also HIGHLY recommend for a Futuristic Crime Thriller!

I would keep in mind, though, that if you are expecting a really HUGE, epic Sci Fi Blockbuster (like the Awesome 'BLADE RUNNER' for example) this movie isn't about that. The look, cinematography, and style are very nicely done, but the Sci Fi elements are more downplayed and low-key. So, you might not get quite as worked up as you would for other Science Fiction films that have more effects and action, since this one is more concept and character driven. BUT... with that said, when the Sci Fi part of the story kicks in about half way through, the concept and story are very well thought out and executed, and the film most definitely DOES leave the audience wondering and asking themselves what the hell is going to happen next...

I had originally given the film a '7', but just after rewatching it now just about 3 years later, I most enthusiastically give it a strong '8'

Very highly recommended!

PLAY SAFE

[nogodnomasters · 6/10 · 4 November 2018]

The film opens in 2044. Todd Ambro is the head of a drug company that want legalization of its recreational drugs. We next see a hacker and then the film jumps 20 years to the past. Frank Grieves (Elliot Cowan) is a narcotics agent called A Dreck, or Dreg, or Drex, or Treck depending on who says it. He is investigating unusual drug activity and is discovering things which are impossible, all the while his family life is being destroyed. We don't know how this ties into the initial scene, but Ambro drugs is involved.

At about an hour into the film, we have enough information to figure out the initial scene. The film moved in a haphazard fashion. The mystery aspect was more frustrating than entertaining. The film appeared to have been a statement on the makers of addictive pharmaceutical drugs that have lead to the increase of illegal heroin use, but then that aspect got lost to the overall production. Too confusing for my taste.

Guide: F-bomb. Nudity.

Potential, watchable, better than average... and apparently polarizing in reviews.

[sebastian-67789 · 6/10 · 25 February 2017]

First of all, I think many of the reviews are so polarized is that this story has such potential. Unfortunately it's missing the complexity to make it work. It needs levels of depth, the kind of movie you watch the first time and generally get, but you know you need to watch a bunch more times to enjoy the complexity.

I like the overall style, soundtrack, and cinematography. Sure, there's a healthy homage to Blade Runner and I'm OK with that. In this day and age it's pretty hard to come up with something truly new without a ridiculous budget. I will say one thing that bothered me production wise and does about so many films these days is the audio. Can we please have an audio mix not designed for headphones? Vocals are too low and sound effects too loud. I have a very respectable home theater system and it's still hard to understand dialog without turning the volume to silly high levels. Anyway moving on...

SPOILERS AHEAD

I won't get into lots of detail, so you can still watch the movie and enjoy it. The concept of a society that has essentially legalized drug use is a good one. We are pretty much there now. Without getting into what is legal and illegal, these days any illegal substance is essentially available in a legal alternative. It speaks to the time we live in, taking it one level higher, and a great way to pull us into the story. Now we need a pay off.

The truly interesting part that drew me to watch this movie is the idea of time travel and that we are capable of it via drugs. This is a truly great concept for telling an amazing story and has so much potential for wonderful detail. Unfortunately, the story doesn't focus much on that. It was worth a watch and I hope someone takes the concept and truly explores it to its potential.

hidden scifi gem worth ALL THE GOLD

[spasticfreakshow · 8/10 · 29 November 2022]

The Good: wonderful plot that even had me guessing wrong when it was revealed there was a twist, I still guessed the twist wrong. Unpredictable plot and even minor plot lines, like the family dynamic - just never what you think it's going to be, and you're just so pleasantly surprised by the writing and by each scene. Acting - just phenomenal, all around, from every actor, some of them big picture actors who obviously chose this indie flick bc it is solidly GOOD scifi.

The Bad: Some of the plot points are pretty hard to follow, but when that happens in a bigger budget picture, like Memento, ppl are like GENIUS - can I get a WHAT WHAT. How about we DON'T dumb everything down to the point that ppl become brainless idiots, even if we have to think to follow the story and sometimes can't. The sound and cinematography values are Blair Witch' Projects younger sibling-work.

The Ugly. NOT the lead actor. He is HECKA hot. Can I get some more, please sir?