Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- paranoid
- tense
- serious
- true crime night
- crime thriller marathon
What critics said
Critics found the opposing leads and their parallels intriguing but felt the film underdeveloped the surrounding story.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Ross Ulbricht operates Silk Road through the dark web while federal agents attempt to penetrate and dismantle it.
The film intercuts Ross Ulbricht's rise with DEA agent Rick Bowden's pursuit, explicitly paralleling their motivations and choices.
The Silk Road marketplace's anonymous online model is set against DEA investigation, surveillance, and prosecution.
Ross's philosophical outlook and creation of a drug-selling website connect ideological claims about freedom with criminal profiteering.
Films like Silk Road, and why
Blackhat
Shares a cat-and-mouse crime thriller structure centered on digital systems, surveillance, and morally compromised investigators.
Donnie Brasco
Comparable for its true-crime procedural tension, undercover investigation, and portrait of criminal networks.
The Wolf of Wall Street
Shares a real-world crime focus, volatile antihero, and critique of ambition and illicit capitalism.
The Social Network
Comparable as a fact-based crime drama about institutional pursuit of a charismatic criminal figure.
Movie Details
- Director
- Tiller Russell
- Release Date
- 2021-02-19
- Runtime
- 116 min
- Rating
- 6.2 / 10 (245)
Cast
- Jason Clarke
- Nick Robinson
- Daniel David Stewart
- Alexandra Shipp
- Paul Walter Hauser
- Jimmi Simpson
- Lexi Rabe
- Katie Aselton
- Will Ropp
- Jennifer Yun
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- MovieSphere+ Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Silk Road about?
- A philosophical darknet entrepreneur and a determined DEA agent collide in a tense true-crime pursuit over the online drug marketplace Silk Road.
- What is Silk Road like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Silk Road as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Silk Road violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Silk Road as moderate.
- What did critics think of Silk Road?
- Critics found the opposing leads and their parallels intriguing but felt the film underdeveloped the surrounding story.
- Which films are like Silk Road?
- Films with a similar feel include Blackhat, Donnie Brasco, The Wolf of Wall Street, and The Social Network.
- How long is Silk Road?
- Silk Road runs 116 minutes.
- Where can I watch Silk Road?
- In United States, Silk Road streams on MovieSphere+ Amazon Channel.
