Pusher | Rotten Tomatoes (2025)

83% Tomatometer 18 Reviews 85% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings

As a heroin dealer in Copenhagen, Frank (Kim Bodnia) is far from the top but earns good money pushing with a friend (Mads Mikkelsen). When he decides to up the ante, Frank goes to Milo (Zlatko Buric), a drug lord -- except he doesn't have enough money for the heroin. Instead, Milo fronts him the goods upon the condition of immediate repayment. But when Frank goes to make the deal, and the police arrive, he has to ditch the drugs. Now Frank has to find a way to repay Milo if he wants to live.

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Pusher

Critics Reviews

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Pusher | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Ethan Gilsdorf Boston Globe Rated: 3/4 Nov 24, 2011 Full Review Pusher | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Nick Schager Lessons of Darkness Refn's electrifying debut soon morphs into something far more opaque and unsettling than a mere genre retread. Rated: B+ Jun 9, 2011 Full Review Pusher | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Boston Globe Rated: 3/4 Nov 4, 2006 Full Review Pusher | Rotten Tomatoes (4) C.H. Newell Father Son Holy Gore Full of resonant themes not simply confined to the crime/drug world. Rated: 5/5 May 4, 2019 Full Review Pusher | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Henry Stewart Brooklyn Magazine The kind of stuff Miramax used to pump into the Angelika like Fruitopia. Jun 15, 2016 Full Review Pusher | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Tim Brayton Antagony & Ecstasy Outstandingly well-done for a first-time director with no formal training on a shoestring budget, but something about it is unappealingly typical. Rated: 7/10 Sep 18, 2011 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member All in all not a bad movie, but the plot gets confusing at times. Certain plot points feel overshadowed by the grunginess and anxiety that permeate the movie. Rated 2.5/5 Stars • Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/14/25 Full Review Millie C Love the Pusher trilogy, With Blood On My Hands is definitely the best however this one is just as good! Phenomenal acting and great tension, anxiety and suspense! Det var så fantastisk nydt det! Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/01/25 Full Review Dave G An absorbing and believable look at seedy characters in untenable situations from a gifted filmmaker. Pusher's projection of authenticity makes me wonder uncomfortably if Refn is only too familiar with the reality of its subject matter. Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/07/24 Full Review R 9 A solid crime thriller.'Pusher' entertained me enough, though the plot did feel a bit repetitive as it felt like it kept 'going around in circles' to me personally. Some of the lighting and editing (as in cuts) choices also made the film feel a little more underwhelming.The cast do well, arguably the film's strongest element. Kim Bodnia makes for a solid lead, though his performance is a tad samey throughout - similar to the aforementioned. Mads Mikkelsen's Tonny sticks out because he is being played by Mads Mikkelsen, the character is OK - underused perhaps, though I may just think that as it's Mads... the whole reason I chose to view this trilogy, to be honest.6/10 would feel harsh so this 1996 release gets 7/10 from yours truly. I didn't overly enjoy it, though I can't exactly say I disliked it either... probably levels out at watchable. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/24/23 Full Review Mahdiyeh H One hell of a debut for Mads Mikkelsen. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review eduardosuarez A boring film about a man who is really bad at being a drug dealer. One of those movies where you keep thinking "why is he doing this? Why would you do that? Why wouldn't you just..." etc. If you're thinking about watching this because you liked Drive and wanted to check out Winding Refn's other work, don't bother. Drive [edit: and Bronson] are his only good films. Definitely don't watch Valhalla Rising, it's worse than this. Rated 2/5 Stars • Rated 2 out of 5 stars 12/16/22 Full Review Read all reviews

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Cast & Crew

Nicolas Winding Refn Director Kim Bodnia Frank Zlatko Buric Milo Laura Drasbæk Vic Slavko Labovic Radovan Mads Mikkelsen Tonny
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Synopsis As a heroin dealer in Copenhagen, Frank (Kim Bodnia) is far from the top but earns good money pushing with a friend (Mads Mikkelsen). When he decides to up the ante, Frank goes to Milo (Zlatko Buric), a drug lord -- except he doesn't have enough money for the heroin. Instead, Milo fronts him the goods upon the condition of immediate repayment. But when Frank goes to make the deal, and the police arrive, he has to ditch the drugs. Now Frank has to find a way to repay Milo if he wants to live.

Director
Nicolas Winding Refn

Producer
Henrik Danstrup

Screenwriter
Jens Dahl, Nicolas Winding Refn

Distributor
Magnolia Pictures

Production Co
Balboa Entertainment

Genre
Crime, Drama

Original Language
Danish

Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 18, 2006, Limited

Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 23, 2017

Box Office (Gross USA)
$4.4K

Runtime
1h 46m

Sound Mix
Dolby, Surround
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