---
title: "The Apprentice: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-apprentice/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-apprentice"
critics_score: 62
critics_reviews: 17
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."
---

# The Apprentice (2024): what the critics said

Critics' score 62 from 17 reviews: 10 positive, 3 mixed, 4 negative.

The reviews on The Apprentice split widely, and the score sits in the middle of a broad range. Nearly everyone agrees on the acting. Jeremy Strong’s Roy Cohn is the performance most often singled out, with several critics saying he overshadows the film around him, and Sebastian Stan’s young Trump draws steady praise for its restraint, particularly in the early scenes. The period detail and the sleaze of the eras it covers are also widely admired.

The reservations cluster around what the film has to say. Many critics find the first half sharper than the second, and a good number complain that Abbasi charts Trump’s slide into cruelty without explaining it, or telling a viewer anything they did not already know. The dissent runs in both directions. The i Paper argues the film should not exist at all, The Ringer calls it an ugly misfire, and The Times calls it the Trump film nobody knew they needed.

## The AV Club — Jason Gorber

Rating B+. 23 May 2024. Festival review. 

The review highlights the compelling mentor/protégé relationship between Roy Cohn and Donald Trump as high drama, with stellar performances making it a masterclass in observing their dynamic.

[Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-apprentice-review-roy-cohn-and-donald-trumps-dark-1851496112)

## Los Angeles Times — Katie Walsh

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 10 October 2024. 

The critic praises the powerhouse performances by Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong in this biopic of young Donald Trump under Roy Cohn's mentorship. It shows how Trump's narcissism and ruthlessness grow under the three rules imparted by Cohn, humanizing him while depicting his transformation into something monstrous.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2024-10-10/the-apprentice-review-sebastian-stan-jeremy-strong-ali-abbasi-biopic)

## Time Out — Phil de Semlyen

Rating 4/5. 21 May 2024. Festival review. 

Abbasi delivers a funny yet unsettling and kitschily entertaining tragicomedy on Trump's rise via his mentorship with Cohn. It excels in its leads' chemistry and period aesthetic but may reaffirm rather than challenge viewers' views on the man.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-apprentice-review-2024)

## Variety — Owen Gleiberman

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 20 May 2024. Festival review. 

The critic finds the first half a knockout for its riveting look at Trump's evolution under Roy Cohn's ruthless lessons, with excellent performances. It falters later by not fully penetrating the mystery of Trump's core motivations or sociopathic turn.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/the-apprentice-review-donald-trump-movie-sebastian-stan-1236010185/)

## Radio Times — Max Copeman

Rating 3/5. 

The drama scathingly chronicles Trump's formative years as a villain origin story, with Stan capturing his mannerisms and Abbasi matching the eras' aesthetics. Strong's compelling performance as Cohn ultimately overshadows the rest.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-76sws1/the-apprentice/)

## The New Yorker — Richard Brody

Fi1m's normalised score 45/100 (inferred from the text). 10 October 2024. 

The review highlights strong supporting performances, especially Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn, but criticizes the film's narrow focus on incidents without deeper insight into Trump's appeal or inner life. It finds the portrayal effective at showing moral decline but ultimately limited by efficient but uninspired direction.

[Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/the-apprentice-reviewed-the-immoral-makings-of-donald-trump)

## Little White Lies — Mark Asch

Rating 3/2/1. 18 October 2024. 

The glossy biopic fails to say anything new about Trump and feels dutiful and unnecessary despite strong early performances. It charts his transformation into cruelty but lacks the edge or insight to justify its existence.

[Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/the-apprentice)

## Vulture — Bilge Ebiri

Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 11 October 2024. 

The critic finds the film starts strong but gets dumber as it goes on, praising Jeremy Strong's performance as Roy Cohn but noting the lack of emotional depth and connective tissue in the portrait of Trump.

[Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/review-the-apprentice-gets-dumber-the-longer-it-goes-on.html)

## The i Paper — Christina Newland

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 16 October 2024. 

The film is a glossy but grotesque and morally questionable biopic that gives undue airtime to Trump, feeling exploitative despite smart insights into his rise via Cohn's rules. It intrigues but ultimately should not exist.

[Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/the-apprentice-review-grotesque-trump-film-3325164)

## Empire — Olly Richards

15 October 2024. 

The film is a smart if not revelatory biopic that finds absorbing drama in Trump's relationship with mentor Roy Cohn, anchored by superb performances from Stan and Strong. It excels in the first half as a thriller-like ascent but falters later with cheap jabs.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/the-apprentice/)

## Evening Standard — Jo-Ann Titmarsh

20 May 2024. Festival review. 

Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong deliver fantastic performances as Trump and Cohn in this origin story that effectively shows Trump's rise. The film recreates the eras well and highlights how Trump became the figure he is today, though the story is linear.

[Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-apprentice-cannes-film-festival-review-donald-trump-sebastian-stan-b1158304.html)

## Financial Times — Danny Leigh

Rating ★★★☆☆. 17 October 2024. 

The film is soap opera with a hint of The Omen, restoring credit to Roy Cohn while ticking through Trump's ascent amid queasy decadence. It singles out the likenesses and snapshot of 1980s sleaze for praise.

[Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/17aa6464-8c6e-4f9b-8108-c79952635b5f)

## Screen Daily

20 May 2024. Festival review. 

Stan and Strong impress in this otherwise lacklustre origin story that searches for the seeds of Trump's callousness without much success. Despite restraint and timeliness, the film never develops a decisive take and ends up dramatically flat.

[Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-apprentice-cannes-review/5193798.article)

## Sight and Sound

31 May 2024. Festival review. 

The film is a mildly amusing but profoundly forgettable and inoffensive villain origin story about young Donald Trump under Roy Cohn's influence. It offers assured filmmaking and vivid period detail but lacks impact or a decisive take on its subject.

[Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/apprentice-frustratingly-safe-biopic-donald-trump)

## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw

20 October 2024. 

The film is a measured biopic that portrays young Trump as a weak and malleable figure shaped by Roy Cohn's ruthless lessons, rather than a full-on grotesque monster. It singles out Jeremy Strong's chilling performance as Cohn for praise.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/oct/20/the-apprentice-review-ali-abbasi-donald-trump-roy-cohn-biopic-jeremy-strong-sebastian-stan)

## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney

20 May 2024. Festival review. 

The critic praises the performances of Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong in this chilling account of the unholy alliance between young Donald Trump and Roy Cohn, noting the film's detailed chronicle but questioning its audience appeal.

[Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/the-apprentice-review-sebastian-stan-jeremy-strong-donald-trump-1235904171/)

## The Telegraph — Robbie Collin

18 October 2024. 

The film is an enjoyably sleaze-slathered period piece about Trump's rise, but its main problem is offering a character study with very little character to study. It praises Jeremy Strong's superb performance as Roy Cohn.

[Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/the-apprentice-review-sebastian-stan-jeremy-strong/)

## The Times — Kevin Maher

11 October 2024. 

This is the Donald Trump movie you never knew you needed, full of compassionate feeling yet ruthless in analysis, with superb nuanced performances from Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong. It singles out the film's nuanced portrait of Trump for praise.

[Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/the-apprentice-review-donald-trump-m6m6z2pbg)

## The Playlist — Rafa Sales Ross

Rating B+. 20 May 2024. Festival review. 

The critic finds the film a sleek satire that threads the line between tabloid fodder and veiled endorsement, with Stan and Strong delivering standout performances as Trump and Cohn. They single out the running comic vein and the way the film avoids pastiche while showing Trump’s transformation into an incompetent, disloyal figure.

[Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/the-apprentice-review-sebastian-stan-as-donald-trump-it-works-cannes-20240520/)

## Den of Geek — David Crow

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 11 October 2024. 

The film frames Donald Trump as the culmination of Roy Cohn's aggressive, fear-based conservative politics rather than an anomaly. It singles out Jeremy Strong's ruthless performance as Cohn for particular praise.

[Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-apprentice-ties-donald-trump-to-rot-american-right/)

## HeyUGuys — Linda Marric

Rating 4/5. 14 October 2024. Festival review. 

The critic praises the film as an essential, thought-provoking biographical drama that refuses to humanize or redeem Trump, instead showing how he was shaped by ruthless power and a toxic mentor. They single out Sebastian Stan’s subtle, career-defining performance for capturing the chilling erosion of Trump’s moral compass.

[Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/the-apprentice-review/)

## Deadline — Pete Hammond

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 20 May 2024. Festival review. 

The critic calls the film a smart, sharp and surprising origin story of young Donald Trump focused on his relationship with Roy Cohn, presenting him as driven yet human rather than a simple hit job. Strong performances from Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong are highlighted alongside the well-researched script that shows the making of the man without judging his later self.

[Read the review](https://deadline.com/2024/05/the-apprentice-review-trump-movie-sebastian-stan-jeremy-strong-1235924101/)

## Collider — Caleb Hammond

Rating 7/10. 24 May 2024. Festival review. 

The critic sees the film as a Scorsese-like origin story for Trump, praising engaging performances especially Stan and Strong's relationship and Bakalova, but notes it occasionally breaks the spell with cheap laughs or winks to contemporary events.

[Read the review](https://collider.com/apprentice-movie-review-sebastian-stan-donald-trump/)

## /Film — Ryan Scott

Rating 7/10. 23 September 2024. Festival review. 

The critic sees the film as a good but difficult watch framed like an American horror story or Star Wars prequel origin tale, elevated by stellar performances from Stan, Strong, and Bakalova. They single out Stan’s subtle, humanizing portrayal of Trump’s gradual devolution as the standout element, while noting the timing makes it unsettling for contemporary audiences.

[Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/1670975/the-apprentice-sebastian-stan-donald-trump-movie-review/)

## The Wrap — Steve Pond

Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 20 May 2024. Festival review. 

The review describes the film as a true-life horror story and Frankenstein-like tale that is amusing at times and disturbing at others, with Stan and Strong delivering notable performances. It notes that after years of Trump imitations the film can feel cartoonish and may not fully suit the director’s particular talents for something weirder or wilder.

[Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/the-apprentice-review-donald-trump-sebastian-stan-jeremy-strong-movie/)

## The Ringer — Adam Nayman

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 9 October 2024. 

The critic finds the film an ugly misfire that misses its target, lacking the sophistication of Citizen Kane or depth, relying on obvious cheap shots and flattening the characters despite strong casting; criticizes the director's approach.

[Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2024/10/09/movies/the-apprentice-movie-review-donald-trump)

## Eye for Film — Andrew Robertson

16 October 2024. 

The critic views the film as a dive into the underbelly of American empire and a Faustian origin story that elicits sympathy for the unsympathetic while measuring compassion for those who have abandoned it. They single out the performances of Stan and Strong, along with the absences and chilling vacancy in Stan’s portrayal, as the film’s strongest and most difficult elements.

[Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-apprentice-2024-film-review-by-andrew-robertson)

## Film Stories — Maria Lattila

16 October 2024. 

The critic calls it a damning yet engrossing character study of how Trump became his worst self through Roy Cohn's influence, with the film asking much of audiences but rewarding with strong performances. They single out Maria Bakalova’s Ivana for the most sobering insight into Trump’s private life and the film’s refusal to flatter its subject.

[Read the review](https://filmstories.co.uk/reviews/the-apprentice-review-ali-abbasis-donald-trump-biopic-hits-all-the-right-notes/)

## Paste — Jim Vorel

Rating 6.0. 10 October 2024. 

The film searches for depth in Trump but finds none, portraying him as a simple fool molded by Cohn; praises Stan's early portrayal and Strong's Cohn, but criticizes lack of insight and familiar story.

[Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/the-apprentice/the-apprentice-review-donald-trump-movie-roy-cohn-sebastian-stan-performance-ali-abbasi)

---
© 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/the-apprentice.md