The Outsider

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1:45

The Outsider

TV-MA

2018

2h 0m

Crime

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

13%

Tomatometer

23 Reviews

67%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

After World War II, an American POW stays in Japan and works his way through the rituals and hardships of the yakuza to become a member of the crime organization.

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Critics Consensus

Starring a disengaged Jared Leto and stuffed with gangster cliches, The Outsider never distinguishes itself enough to gain admittance into the inner circle of good yakuza pictures.

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Nick Allen

RogerEbert.com

Mar 9, 2018

1.5/4

Take Leto out of the picture and you have an even less noteworthy movie, a yakuza tale with an originality deficit.

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David Ehrlich

IndieWire

Mar 8, 2018

D

Can a gaijin ever be trusted like family, or will his motives ultimately be self-serving? It's an interesting question in a story that's otherwise completely devoid of interesting questions, but The Outsider is too enamored with its foreign star.

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Noel Murray

Los Angeles Times

Mar 8, 2018

"The Outsider" is a slick copy of multiple, much-better films and TV series. It's so well-polished it's practically featureless.

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Dan Jackson

Thrillist

Jan 29, 2021

The Outsider is needlessly cruel, dour, and slow. No amount of brooding from a handsome leading man can save it.

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Christian Gallichio

The Playlist

Oct 24, 2018

D

It's hard to fault The Outsider too much though, as it will predictably fall into the black hole that is Netflix original movies, so here's hoping that Zandvliet, Leto, and especially Hjelm move on to better things in the near future.

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Alci Rengifo

Entertainment Voice

Aug 26, 2018

The Outsider feels like the first draft of a story that could have worked with more tweaks and energy. It is another case of a project featuring talented people, but never truly exploiting their talents.

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Anthony P

@RT08351926 5 days ago

Was a decent movie. I can’t understand why people disliked it so much.

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Jelisije J

@jjosifovic Nov 3, 2026

A fairly simple story that could have been a lot better if they had actual characters that was worth remembering.

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Daniel B

@DANIEL2004 Aug 24, 2026

"The Outsider" representa ese tipo de propuestas hechas a la medida para streaming que justifican por completo el valor de una suscripción mensual, demostrando un interés genuino por construir una narrativa propositiva. Aunque es innegable el sello de producción de la plataforma, la cinta destaca por una atmósfera japonesa absolutamente fascinante donde cada locación exterior se convierte en un auténtico goce visual. Narrativamente presenta una trama de estructura muy circular que, si bien expone alegorías interesantes y sigue una línea muy definida, logra atrapar al espectador gracias a una superficie sólida que culmina en un tercer acto maravilloso: predecible en su fondo, pero construido con un pulso tan preciso que te envuelve por completo en su mundo.

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Andrew S

@Malasita Jul 6, 2026

Interesting premise but could’ve been better.

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Adrian D

@paperdoilie Jul 5, 2026

Don't understand all the criticism of this film, I really liked it

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Augusto D

@RT38593347 Jul 1, 2026

I can’t believe they didn’t make a second one. Great movie. Critics are way off this time

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The Outsider: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

After World War II, an American POW stays in Japan and works his way through the rituals and hardships of the yakuza to become a member of the crime organization.

Director: Martin Zandvliet
Producer: Ken Kao, Art Linson, John Linson
Screenwriter: Andrew Baldwin
Production Co: Linson Entertainment, Waypoint Entertainment
Rating: TV-MA
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 9, 2018
Runtime: 2h 0m

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