Movie Review: Operation Odessa (2018)

[Dave Gray]

Operation Odessa (2018)

Premise: Documentary detailing a Russian Mobster, immigrant Cuban hustler, and South Florida business-man conspiring to broker the sale of a submarine for the Cali cartel to run drugs, amidst the backdrop of a collapsing Soviet Union.

Rating: A Hollywood script level set-up, lacking a satisfying finale.

The setup is literally something you'd see on Miami Vice.   It's hard to believe that this stuff even went down.  These cartels had so much money and influence and there was such a demand for this stuff that the money just drove people to take incredible risks.  The main guy, Tarzan, actually comes across as fun and likable, though I imagine he's a pretty terrible dude.  

The 2nd act of the film introduces a larger than life Cuban, but doesn't really add a lot to the plot, starts to get muddled and harder to follow, but then there is a big reveal that again, is like straight out of a Hollywood script and turns everything on its head.

But then, the stretch doesn't pay off.  The story just naturally sorta fizzles out.  I think that had a lot to do with these cartels losing their influence in the 1990s.

This is just a personal note, but I find it especially interesting that this all happened right here in my backyard and I'd never heard about it.

You can check this out on Netflix.