Silk Road (2021)

Directed by: Tiller Russell | 112 minutes | crime, drama | Actors: Nick Robinson, Jason Clarke, Jennifer Yun, Jimmi Simpson, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Daniel David Stewart, Kenneth Miller, Alexandra Shipp, Katie Aselton, Lexi Rabe, David DeLao, Beth Bailey, Mark Sivertsen, Will Ropp, Jason Coviello, Walter Anaruk

Movies on the internet age very quickly. Technological developments follow each other in rapid succession. Technothrillers like ‘The Net’ with Sandra Bullock (from 1995) and ‘Perfect Stranger’ with Bruce Willis (from 2007) seem like historical films, because the portrayal of the internet is so wonderfully dated. The same fate could also befall ‘Silk Road’…

Nick Robinson plays the lead role in ‘Silk Road’. He plays Ross Ulbricht. This guy is single-handedly setting up a black market online. Narcotics can be traded via the internet via this so-called ‘Silk Road’. When hardened Rick ‘Jurassic Narc’ Bowden (Jason Clarke) spots Ross, a cat-and-mouse game ensues.

Director Tiller Russell begins his film with the quote “this is a true story, except what we changed or added.” Nice and easy way to say that you are making fiction, but you do read a newspaper article and pick things up from there. Anyway, some poetic freedom is by no means a bad starting point for an entertaining thriller. Unfortunately ‘Silk Road’ never really gets going. This is mainly due to the poor acting of the main characters.

Robinson is not convincing as a shrewd entrepreneur. He acts stiffly and lacks charisma. The latter can also be said about Clarke. He puts down a flat interpretation and does not stand out in a positive sense. The best thing about his role is the nickname that has been made up for this character. Compliments to the creator of ‘Jurassic Narc’: this name certainly elicits a smile. Still some kind of emotion.

‘Silk Road’ is about the black market on the internet. There could have been a more interesting film, but unfortunately Tiller fails to hold the attention. The pace of the story is quite slow and the cast is not very enthusiastic. In addition, the boundary between fiction and reality is downright confused. What is correct and what is not? Questions that are not answered.