Oligarkh 2002

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: A meaty, well-crafted thriller that absorbs and disturbs you from first frame to last. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: Despite its messiness, Tycoon is a movie wired to the moment. Like certain Spike Lee films, it is a cinematic newspaper whose alarming headlines cry out not to be ignored. Read more

Damon Smith, Boston Globe: An uneven political thriller that suffers mostly from a highly convoluted story line. Read more

Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times: Evokes a melancholy awareness of the seemingly eternal exploitation and impoverishment of the Russian people. Read more

Michael Booth, Denver Post: The combination of historical sweep and the need to read subtitles doesn't allow for the kind of subtle character portrayal that made the Godfather series, but Mashkov is a major force as Platon. Read more

Gary Dowell, Dallas Morning News: The movie's Citizen Kane-style narrative sometimes works against it, and a lack of coherence is often frustrating. Despite this, Tycoon does land a few punches while telling a story that is distinctly Russian. Read more

Scott Foundas, L.A. Weekly: Chilly and convoluted, too eventful to be boring, but never taking the time to immerse us emotionally in Makovski's world. Read more

Jan Stuart, Newsday: Tycoon is as seductive and audacious as its protagonist, whose outrageous manipulations encapsulate the chaos and corruption of Russia's neophyte capitalist economy. Read more

Jack Mathews, New York Daily News: Mashkov's riveting performance and Lounguine's classic pacing make it worth the effort. Read more

Andrew Sarris, New York Observer: The sheer moral ambivalence and physical exuberance of the spectacle makes it worth seeing, if only for a glimpse at a once-feared society engulfed by chaos. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: The movie is handicapped by a jittery editing style that prevents us from getting involved in the flow of the narrative. Read more

G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle: Although Lounguine has a lot to say about Russia's struggle in its transition to global capitalism, his film is strangely uninvolving, lacking dramatic sweep. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Plato's fast-talking gamesmanship has a sly con-artist's feel in the early stretches, but as his wealth multiplies, the game turns serious and the film becomes preachy and ponderous. Read more

Michael Atkinson, Village Voice: Crass, unimaginative, corner-cutting, and simplistic, with the visual vocabulary of daytime soap. Read more