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Opportunists, The

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Opportunists, The reviews
71
9.0 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 24 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 1 votes
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Drama

Written by: Myles Connell

Directed by: Myles Connell

Release Date:
Theatrical: August 11, 2000

Running Time: 89 minutes, Color

Origin: USA / UK

Summary

RATING: R for language

Starring Christopher Walken, John Ortiz, Cyndi Lauper, and Peter McDonald

An Irish immigrant (McDonald) comes to America to join a hometown friend (Walken) and auto mechanic that he believes is a crime lord. The two team up for one last heist to pay off their debts.

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

90

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

A small gem.

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90

Village Voice Amy Taubin

Filled with vivid and likable characters, The Opportunists could be the basis for a TV series as captivating as "The Sopranos."

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80

Film.com Peter Brunette

A very small film, as they say in the movie business, but its stylish suspensefulness is nicely leavened by Connell's obvious, and welcome, love for his hapless characters.

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80

The New York Times A.O. Scott

This is one of the best-photographed pictures of the year, but not ostentatiously so; the look is organic to the less-than-glamorous badlands of Sunnyside, Queens.

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80

LA Weekly Ernest Hardy

It's Walken who's most impressive.

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75

Boston Globe Jay Carr

Goes soft in the end, but not ruinously so. Meanwhile, its loose cannons bounce off one another deliciously.

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75

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Stack

A brilliant performance (Walken).

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75

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

He (Walken) is a gifted classical actor...and here he understands Victor Kelly from the inside out.

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75

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

It's a character study, nicely realized.

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75

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Walken gives a beautifully understated performance.

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75

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

Studded with sturdy acting.

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75

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

Playing a perpetual victim like Victor (Walken) might be easy, but making audiences want to watch him for 97 minutes isn't.

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75

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

Enjoyable, intelligent little heist movie.

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75

San Francisco Examiner G. Allen Johnson

An engaging, well-written film that is surprisingly gentle in tone and easily paced.

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75

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

The movie is small and familiar, but this time, those turn out to be strengths.

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75

Chicago Tribune Marc Caro

Contains ample dry humor and its share of surprising turns, but they operate on a human level rather than with the kind of empty flash we've come to expect from the post-Tarantino crime flicks.

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70

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

Fair amount of grit and charm.

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67

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

Not only are these characters beautifully underplayed, but they're underplayed by two of the most enthusiastic scene-stealers around: Walken & Lauper.

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60

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

The plot isn't what makes this movie worth watching anyway -- it's the performances and the ambiance.

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60

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Modestly made and modestly charming.

58

Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard

It's amiable enough, but the only real opportunity here is to see Walken step out of the shadows.

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58

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Skillfully made, yet the film would have been better if it had tapped a bit of that Walken madness.

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58

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

Ultimately emotionally flat and eminently forgettable.

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50

Dallas Observer Gregory Weinkauf

Once Connell finds his feet, he just may stride forth with his Important American Movie. Until then, The Opportunists is simply a whiff of great unwashedness yet to come.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 1 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

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