This is my first review and please forgive my errors in writing, as English is not my native language and also my critical mind. This was just sad for me, as a Romanian, because the story with the submarine was a satire to all the other things that could be sold to the higher bidder in the Eastern Block after the collapse of the USSR or after the fall of comunism earlier in '89, here in Romania. The situation was critical on all aspects. The inflation was booming and with a paycheck of one month, you could buy an apartment, a car, a small factory and so on. The factories, all the industries were sold to the "smart boys" and in a matter of years, we were left with nothing. All the comunist era bosses were getting richer and richer, while the rest of the country was collapsing under poverty. So, this documentary was just a perfect metaphor for all the other countries ex-comunist, which practiced this thing. Every good that country had, was an esset ready to be sold. Of course, those things were known only by those who were part of that system; the common folk didn't knew this kind of stuff. As a country, Romania suffer after those lost things even after 30 years of freedom.
45 Reviews
Brilliantly made documentary
davidbunworth16 October 2018
It is nearly like a movie except it's real life. Filmed an unbelievable story with great pace and style. Hugely entertaining and even thought,there maybe some poetic license from some of the interviewees it is great 90minutes of watching fast talkingcromjnals tell an unbelievable story.
Most entertaining documentary I've seen in years
maccas-5636720 January 2019
This documentary felt like it was literally on cocaine - which given the subject matter was kind of fitting. This story is insane. It somehow makes the likes of "Wolf of Wall Street", "American Made" and "War Dogs" all seem a little mundane in comparison.
Who knows how much of all this was actually as true as said, but it makes for an amazingly wild ride nonetheless. You can't help but root for the guys success in a way - which may conflict some viewers. I found it hard not to admire their ingenuity at times and sheer brazenness.
It also provided numerous laughs throughout. And Vanilla Ice.
Imagine every player (criminal organisation and law enforcement agency) in every crime film you have ever seen - then combine the whole lot together, slap a true story on it and you get "Operation Odessa".
Best documentary I have seen in a while.
Who knows how much of all this was actually as true as said, but it makes for an amazingly wild ride nonetheless. You can't help but root for the guys success in a way - which may conflict some viewers. I found it hard not to admire their ingenuity at times and sheer brazenness.
It also provided numerous laughs throughout. And Vanilla Ice.
Imagine every player (criminal organisation and law enforcement agency) in every crime film you have ever seen - then combine the whole lot together, slap a true story on it and you get "Operation Odessa".
Best documentary I have seen in a while.
AWESOME doco
Hokesone27 December 2018
Warning: Spoilers
The best thing about this doco-is the guys telling the story-imo you can always tell someone that was really there from the details in the story👌🏼
All were at one stage filthy rich,throw in cocaine smuggling,international boats and planes and a international thief,exotic cars and u have a awesome doco!
It has comedy,plenty of footage and pictures.
1 guy named tony is still wanted by Interpol till this day-his probably the only man to steal 10million dollars from the cartel and lived to tell the tale..
Then they tell you the detailed story of how they went to a naval yard in Russia WITH A CAMERA and took pics for the cartel that wanted to buy a ($35,000,000) submarine..
Flying by helicopter to purchase cheap motorcycles to resell,they done it all😂
Great storytelling but missing some information
ashleyannkennedy4 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I adored the larger-than-life personalities and the storytelling. Funny, entertaining, and unique. I would have appreciated a bit more info at the end, where the pacing feels a bit rushed. For example, how'd they all escape jail time in the US if there were 15,000 hours of wiretaps? Why did Tarzan conveniently ignore the spy cam and the free CIA phone? How did Tarzan escape penalty from the cartels and didn't he care about his family? I guess these details were left out because the truth would have made them seem a lot less cool... And we can't have that in the post-Sopranos era.
The wheeling deeling 90's!
Ghenghy2 April 2018
Warning: Spoilers
The most incredible documentary I have ever seen. Tells the amazing story of a Miami-Cali Cartel-Moscow connection and the purchase of Russian military helicopters for sale to the the Cartel. Eventually leading to a brokered deal by these shady Miami figures and a Cuban Secret Service agent with 40 passports of a Russian nuclear sub to the drug lords. There's an amazing twist at the end of this story involving the most ballsy double-cross anyone could imagine but I won't give that away.
Told by the original players from Miami and DEA and FBI agents, missing from the testimony are Cartel members who are MIA for obvious reasons. The main characters are all unique personalities that had me laughing from the first interview. Especially entertaining was the Cuban spy who if he wasn't in hiding would make a great stand up comedian, or the next James Bond. Documentaries are not normally entertaining, but this one had me in stitches until the end. Highly recommended.
Told by the original players from Miami and DEA and FBI agents, missing from the testimony are Cartel members who are MIA for obvious reasons. The main characters are all unique personalities that had me laughing from the first interview. Especially entertaining was the Cuban spy who if he wasn't in hiding would make a great stand up comedian, or the next James Bond. Documentaries are not normally entertaining, but this one had me in stitches until the end. Highly recommended.
Meh
vjulien23 October 2020
Everyone has a story about the narcos nowadays. Operation Odessa follows the rule and tells us the story about drugs, luxury cars and everything that goes with it. The story might be true, it is hard to corroborate every detail but we can have some serious doubts by the way it is told. Mostly interviews and some photographic illustrations that look like they have been taken from Google Images. It is entertaining but is it really a documentary or just a movie?
PURE MAGIC
korsbrekke5 August 2018
Wilder Than Hollywood's Bombastic Capers
AudioFileZ6 July 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Hollywood loves bombast. Hollywood loves crime. Hollywood can't sell it like the real thing (nor do they particularly seem to want to). This doc is about the real thing and the best screenwriters can't write this stuff like these real life criminals. This movie blows what really did happen in Miami in the 90's out in the open and it really is hard to believe stuff like this actually went down. It did and now we get a peek and it's mind-blowing. One guy even beat Pablo Escobar out of 10-million dollars. A group of three guys bought two heavy Russian military helicopters and were about to actually buy a Russian submarine before one dissappeared and brought the deal to a halt. It's very conceivable the sub deal might have happened even as the US Armed Forces and all of the 3-letter agencies were scrambling to attempt to stop it. Later it seems a sub deal of a different yet still Russian kind did happen! These guys, at least several of them, weren't hiding in the shadows but actually living extremely large and flamboyant with well-known businesses. It's a lot to take in and one knows we get the highly filtered and mega-condensed version of what they were actually up to. It's more than enough and the film keeps the viewer in wrapt amazement as to what is revealed. It makes you wonder how many other criminal enterprises are out there but totally dark. The fact that none of these men are currently spending their lives in jails is equally mind-blowing. And there is one who, somehow, has managed to escape both the cartel's vengeance and Interpol still while actually granting an interview. Like I already said writers couldn't get all these ingredients in any believable way yet here it is. This is one engaging documentary from start to finish. It really does make one's jaw drop.
Bad men, great documentary!
julienboutoille1 June 2018
Entertaining
ersbel12 January 2021
Probably most of the stories are bull, but that does not make them any less entertaining. The better part is to see the governmental thugs how they can have virtually unlimited resources to live like mobsters to protect the World from small time opportunists who don't pay the cigarette tax.
A (funny!) drug trafficking documentary
dfloro6 March 2021
So the surprise watching this feature-length documentary on the infamous "Cali Cartel buys a Russian submarine" case is how funny parts of the almost cartoon-gangster tale truly were/are. A few sample lines include: "You had to be a really bad DEA agent not to bust somebody for coke back then in Miami" and "Tarzan was always the first guy to take all his clothes off and be standing there with that big gut hanging out...." So some documentaries are interesting for the secrets revealed and the things you can learn about people that you'll probably never actually get to meet. But "Operation Odessa" is just entertaining in telling its tail of almost comical cops and robbers. Recommended (7/10)
Three gangster-wanna-be tell some exaggerated crazy stories
mrwhite0003 January 2021
This "documentary" is like listening to three old men in a bar telling some crazy story, probably very embellished, about some stupid stunt involving the corrupt ex soviet military and some cartel guys. The director keeps showing images of Venezuela everytime they mention Colombia (?) . So take this for what it is, cheap and lazy entertainment with no real historical value and pretty exaggerated stories told by three losers. I give it three stars just because Tarzan is kind of funny.
Truly a must see!
SpacemanBob8 April 2020
Funny
nyhc-100989 April 2018
Very good documentary
nicorip2226 October 2020
Great movie
ahsmithers7 May 2018
Unbelievable true funny stories
happytoms20 July 2019
Extremely funny characters telling truth stories about their adventures in the 1990s. The stories they tell are so unbelievable yet so true and they are told in a manner where you burst in laughter time to time. Their lives feel like a movie. But overall extremely well shot and told documentary. Would reccomend to anyone. Loved it!
Simply awful people.
jennifertrathan12 March 2021
I appear to be in a very tiny minority of people who disliked this. My problem was with the three main protagonists. They were vile. I think I would have to travel very far to find three men who turned my stomach more than they did.
At the end, my main questions were did the wife and children, plus the taxi driver and his passenger survive? No mention of what happened to them.
Highly Entertaining!!!
topstarhomepros30 January 2020
I was so surprised to see that this film only received 7.7 of 10 stars. It couldn't have been a more entertaining documentary in my opinion. If this were to be made into a movie, which I know it will... the talent scout would be hard pressed to find 3 individuals with more personality to play these roles better than the actual real life characters. Absolutely hilarious. Total criminal degenerates, but hilarious!
Must See Documentary
billhitt-1681216 April 2018
No movie about this adventure would ever have been made because the truth is crazier than fiction. A cast of characters somewhere between crafty and complete misfits that cause you to genuinely like them.
The story contains some loose ends and the storytelling could definitely have been tighter, but this is an incredibly enjoyable and educational ride.
Provides a real window into the wild, wild worlds of Miami, Russia and the seemingly ubiquitous role of cocaine in the 80's and early 90's.
The story contains some loose ends and the storytelling could definitely have been tighter, but this is an incredibly enjoyable and educational ride.
Provides a real window into the wild, wild worlds of Miami, Russia and the seemingly ubiquitous role of cocaine in the 80's and early 90's.
I had a small personal involment in this story
ganuv24 April 2018
One of the best documentaries I ever seen, I actually saw it 3 times in 3 days.
Right after Tarzan went to jail in late 90's, I started dating his former "girlfriend", she is actually from my home country which I like to keep a secret, so we had many things in common.
She confessed about Tarzan after we dated 2 weeks, but she assured me that he is in jail because I freaked out a bit when I heard it the first time, as they were still in touch.
She told me the story in this documentary about him, his friends, and the Submarine story.
When I found the documentary last week, I couldn't believe my eyes, and it turned out to be a really amazing story!
We only dated a few months and than lost touch as she left town and I never saw her again.
A must see for doc fans
mywordsdidglow29 June 2020
Only in Florida could the Russian Mob, Russian military, New York Mob, South American Cartels, The CIA , DEA , FBI. and three charming, funny, charismatic. low life scumbags come together to try to broker/prevent a weapons deal that could truly change drug dealing forever. It is a fun-filled documentary that will make you laugh and terrify you with its historical perspective of what can happen.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
