--- title: "Dead Man's Wire: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/dead-mans-wire/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/dead-mans-wire" critics_score: 71 critics_reviews: 15 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Dead Man's Wire (2026): what the critics said Critics' score 71 from 15 reviews: 10 positive, 5 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics agree on one thing: Bill Skarsgård’s performance as the hostage-taker Tony Kiritsis carries the film, described variously as jittery, volatile, unnerving and boyishly funny. Beyond him, the praise clusters around the tension of the central standoff, the period detail and the soundtrack, with several reviews reading it as a 1970s throwback in the Dog Day Afternoon mould and calling it Van Sant’s most compelling work in years. The reservations are consistent too. Empire and The Observer find the characters thinly drawn; Vulture, Collider and Paste think the film loses something whenever it widens beyond its two leads, and that the small scale leaves the story’s chaos underused. The spread is moderate, with no outright pans. The Times gives it full marks and calls it his strongest since Milk, while The New York Times, the firmest dissent, finds it low-energy and short of the liveliness the real story deserves. ## The Times Rating 5/5. 19 March 2026. Van Sant refracts the 1977 Kiritsis hostage story through toxic masculinity, with Bill Skarsgård mesmerising as the incel-like kidnapper. The film layers journalistic elements and a strong soundtrack to create Van Sant's strongest work since Milk. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/dead-mans-wire-review-gus-van-sants-brilliant-take-on-toxic-masculinity-5xds7h9k2) ## Evening Standard — India Block Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 19 March 2026. The critic calls it a nerve-shredding hostage drama that will leave palms sweaty, praising its taut two-hander focus and Bill Skarsgård's deeply unsettling performance as the unhinged kidnapper. It avoids heavy morality tales while highlighting the strange intimacy between captor and hostage amid media frenzy. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/dead-mans-wire-review-bill-skarsgard-gus-van-sant-b1275258.html) ## Time Out — Phil de Semlyen Rating 4/5. 3 September 2025. Festival review. The review commends the film’s terrific gusto in capturing the absurdities of the true story and its perceptive anti-capitalist folk-tale qualities, with Skarsgård’s jittery, volatile lead performance singled out for praise alongside the period detail and soundtrack. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/dead-mans-wire-review-2025) ## Empire — John Nugent Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 16 March 2026. The critic finds it a tense, suspenseful no-nonsense thriller that keeps the heart rate up through its sweaty hostage standoff. The main strength is the straightforward tension and solid ensemble, though the characters feel thinly sketched compared to Van Sant's earlier work. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/dead-mans-wire/) ## Film Comment — José Teodoro Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 22 September 2025. Festival review. The critic finds the film compelling in its restaging of a 1977 hostage crisis to explore class anxieties and institutional barriers. They single out the playful formal conceits like freeze-frames and the integration of peripheral characters and radio broadcasts into the narrative. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/blog/partly-cloudy-tiff-2025-below-the-clouds-dead-mans-wire-review/) ## Vulture Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 9 January 2026. The film sticks to the facts of the 1977 true story while emphasizing its timeliness, with Skarsgård playing the disillusioned capitalist antihero with excitable, boyish humor. It excels in its stylistic claustrophobia and the central metaphor of two broken capitalists locked in a murderous standoff, though it is less successful when expanding beyond the two leads. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/dead-mans-wire-review-capitalism-wont-love-you-back.html) ## Slant Magazine — Alexander Mooney Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 19 September 2025. Festival review. Van Sant cheekily toys with the eroticism of the hostage scenario in this breathlessly satirical thriller, delivering a memorably wonky take on the spectacles of crime and punishment with humanizing touches for its characters. It is sturdily directed but may leave one wishing Van Sant had complicated its true-crime spectacle a little more. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/dead-mans-wire-review-bill-skarsgard-gus-van-sant/) ## IndieWire — Katie Rife Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 5 January 2026. Bill Skarsgård stars as an aggrieved antihero who takes his mortgage broker hostage in a pleasingly punchy ’70s throwback that has sympathy for the kidnapper. The film struggles to maintain momentum overall. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/dead-mans-wire-review-gus-van-sant-1235148582/) ## The New York Times — Ben Kenigsberg Fi1m's normalised score 45/100 (inferred from the text). 8 January 2026. The critic finds the film a low-energy 1970s-style crime drama that fails to capture the excitement of the real 1977 hostage incident it depicts. Van Sant evokes the period adequately with video footage and a '70s soundtrack, but the story lacks the craziness and liveliness it deserves. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/08/movies/dead-mans-wire-review.html) ## Financial Times — Jonathan Romney Rating 7. 19 March 2026. Van Sant's matter-of-fact take on the 1970s kidnapping excels at building tension and psychological insight, marking his most compelling film in years thanks to a strong cast and script. Skarsgård unnerves as the deluded Kiritsis while Montgomery makes the victim sympathetically bland. [Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/19582157-1059-4249-a9d4-bf31030439aa) ## Screen Daily 2 September 2025. Festival review. The critic describes the Venice premiere as an entertaining period drama with a light-footed screenplay and a cracking central performance from Skarsgård that captures a sympathetic yet troubling man, noting its moral grey areas and commercial potential. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/dead-mans-wire-review-bill-skarsgard-impresses-in-gus-van-sants-real-life-crime-caper/5208446.article) ## Sight and Sound 17 March 2026. The critic praises Van Sant’s nuanced dramatisation of the true 1977 hostage story as both jocular and baleful, nostalgic and timely, with strong performances from Skarsgård and Montgomery and a self-conscious evocation of the period’s media landscape. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/dead-mans-wire-bill-skarsgard-sticks-it-man-this-nuanced-period-thriller-from-gus-van-sant) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw 2 September 2025. Festival review. The critic praises the film's black-comic flair and unsentimentality in its take on the 1977 hostage incident, comparing it favorably to Dog Day Afternoon. Performances by Pacino, Domingo and Myha’la add surreal, hilarious elements to the gripping true-crime thriller. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/sep/02/dead-mans-wire-review-gus-van-sant-true-crime-thriller-al-pacino-colman-domingo-myhala-venice-film-festival) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney 2 September 2025. Festival review. Gus Van Sant is in top form with this riveting true-crime dramatization of a 1977 hostage incident, paying tribute to Sidney Lumet’s ’70s thrillers while carving its own identity. Bill Skarsgard delivers a crackling performance full of unforced humor as the antihero, with the film’s understated approach letting sociopolitical themes emerge organically in a timely, entertaining reflection on the American Dream. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/dead-mans-wire-review-bill-skarsgard-gus-van-sant-1236358582/) ## The Observer — Wendy Ide 22 March 2026. Van Sant delivers a taut, no-frills thriller recreating the 1977 kidnapping with caustic humour and meticulous period detail, though it skimps slightly on characterisation. Skarsgård's jittery performance positions the protagonist between crackpot and folk hero. [Read the review](https://observer.co.uk/culture/film/article/wendy-ides-pick-of-other-films-dead-mans-wire-broken-english-arco-and-more) ## Collider — David Caballero Rating 8/10. 9 January 2026. The review praises the film as a welcome return for Van Sant, highlighting Bill Skarsgård's standout, empathetic yet unpredictable performance as the deluded hostage-taker Tony Kiritsis. It notes the film's topical condemnation of rigged institutions and capitalism but criticizes its small-scale approach that limits the story's full chaotic potential. [Read the review](https://collider.com/dead-mans-wire-review-bill-skarsgard-gus-van-sant-dacre-montgomery-al-pacino/) ## HeyUGuys — Linda Marric Rating 4/5. 19 March 2026. The critic calls it a tense, old-school crime thriller that keeps things simple and lets the story work, praising its grounded and gripping feel along with strong performances, especially from Bill Skarsgård. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/dead-mans-wire-review/) ## The Skinny — Carmen Paddock Rating ★★★★. 3 March 2026. The critic calls it an excellently constructed, taut nail-biter and slick 1970s throwback that pays homage to films like Dog Day Afternoon while remaining relevant. They praise the grounded and captivating lead performance by Bill Skarsgård as an everyman antihero, while noting some scenes do not fully pay off. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/dead-mans-wire) ## The Playlist — Marshall Shaffer Rating B. 2 September 2025. Festival review. The critic finds it a breezily watchable 1970s-set hostage thriller with simple, familiar pleasures and a well-oiled machine direction, praising Skarsgård’s unpredictable performance while noting it does not go especially deep. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/dead-mans-wire-review-gus-van-sant-delivers-sturdy-simple-thrills-with-his-best-movie-in-years-venice-20250902/) ## Paste — Andy Crump Rating C+. 6 January 2026. The critic finds the film a narrow but timely hostage drama that derives tension from its focus on the criminal folk hero, thanks especially to Skarsgård's taut performance. It praises the insightful portrait in Skarsgård's scenes but complains that the limited perspective hurts the overall story. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/gus-van-sant/dead-mans-wire-review) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 12 December 2025. The film is just OK as a movie despite the terrifying real-life story. Skarsgård's committed, chameleon-like performance as the chaotic lead is singled out as the standout element that keeps it engaging. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/dead-mans-wire-review-bill-skarsgard-gus-van-sant/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/dead-mans-wire.md