--- title: "The Wizard of the Kremlin: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-wizard-of-the-kremlin/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-wizard-of-the-kremlin" critics_score: 49 critics_reviews: 23 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 Wizard of the Kremlin (2026): what the critics said Critics' score 49 from 23 reviews: 6 positive, 6 mixed, 11 negative. Most critics come away from The Wizard of the Kremlin admiring one thing: Jude Law’s Putin. Review after review calls it chilling, steely or commanding, and several note that Law avoids impersonation, building the man from dismissiveness and stillness. Beyond that, the reviews lean negative. Nearly half find the film a failure, and even the warmer notices call it dense and uneven, praising its grasp of how a propaganda state manufactures confusion more than its drama. The complaints cluster on structure and script: an episodic, overlong chronicle that lectures rather than dramatises, with a droning voiceover often blamed. Paul Dano’s Baranov splits the critics; Deadline and The Wrap think his quiet performance holds the film together, while The Guardian and The Observer find it mannered and one-note. The spread is wide. Vulture calls the film great and enormously entertaining; The New Yorker finds it politically passive and faults it for taking its narrator’s account at face value. ## Vulture — Bilge Ebiri Fi1m's normalised score 95/100 (inferred from the text). 3 September 2025. Festival review. Ebiri calls the film great, finding its sweep through Russian history both revealing and enormously entertaining. He particularly praises Jude Law’s chilling portrayal of Putin through a riveting dismissiveness rather than an imitation of his mannerisms. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/review-the-wizard-of-the-kremlin-happens-to-be-a-great-film.html) ## Radio Times — James Mottram Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 17 April 2026. The headline presents the film as a fascinating portrait. It singles out Jude Law’s portrayal of Vladimir Putin. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/wizard-of-the-kremlin-review/) ## Screen Daily — Jonathan Romney Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 31 August 2025. Festival review. The headline indicates a positive verdict, singling out Jude Law’s performance as Vladimir Putin. The film is described as a dense Venice competition title. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-wizard-of-the-kremlin-review-jude-law-impresses-as-vladimir-putin-in-oliver-assayas-drama/5208373.article) ## Sight and Sound — BFI Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 16 April 2026. Festival review. The critic finds the film flawed but essential viewing for understanding the workings of a totalitarian propaganda state. They praise its grasp of those mechanisms, while faulting the English accents and unevenly explanatory screenplay. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/wizard-kremlin-westernised-take-putins-rise-power) ## RogerEbert.com Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). The page is blocked by a browser check, so the critic’s verdict cannot be determined. No praise or complaint can be verified from the available page. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-wizard-of-the-kremlin-jude-law-paul-dano-film-review-2026) ## IndieWire — Ryan Lattanzio Rating C+. 31 August 2025. Festival review. The critic finds the political drama subdued and respectable but too low-key to convey its intended urgency. Archival footage effectively evokes the turmoil beyond the Kremlin, though the film could use more venom and dramatic intensity. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/the-wizard-of-the-kremlin-review-1235148346/) ## The AV Club — Jacob Oller Rating C+. 14 May 2026. The review finds the film an uneven history lesson and satire, but an affecting portrait of how political power manufactures confusion. It praises the depiction of Baranov funding opposing groups to undermine trust and resistance. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-wizard-of-the-kremlin-review) ## Little White Lies — Rafa Sales Ross Rating 3/3/3. 13 April 2026. The critic finds the film absurd and self-aware, but says it ultimately fails to land its punch. Jude Law’s mesmerizing, pop-culture-inflected portrayal of Putin is singled out for praise. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/the-wizard-of-the-kremlin) ## Time Out — Phil de Semlyen Rating 3/5. 31 August 2025. Festival review. The review finds the fictionalised biopic an unilluminating lesson in modern Russian history. It singles out Jude Law’s portrayal of Putin for praise. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-wizard-of-the-kremlin-review-2025) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Jordan Mintzer Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 31 August 2025. Festival review. Mintzer finds the film an ambitious but overextended chronicle that struggles to turn its history into compelling drama. He praises Jude Law’s restrained, convincing portrayal of Putin, while faulting the muddled characterization and crowded plot. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/the-wizard-of-the-kremlin-review-olivier-assayas-jude-law-1236351881/) ## Slant Magazine — Alexander Mooney Rating 1.5/4. 15 September 2025. Festival review. The critic finds the film leaden, strained, and unable to deliver insight through irony. They single out its drab visuals and repetitive, obvious writing as especially damaging. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-wizard-of-the-kremlin-review-jude-law-paul-dano/) ## Empire — Dan Jolin Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 7 May 2026. The review finds the film an occasionally interesting but overlong account of Putin’s rise, weakened by its framing and structure. It singles out Jude Law’s compelling portrayal of Putin as the film’s most rewarding element. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/wizard-of-the-kremlin/) ## The Observer — Wendy Ide Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 17 April 2026. Ide finds the film flawed overall, despite Jude Law’s compelling portrayal of Putin. She particularly criticizes Paul Dano’s mannered performance, which she says undermines the film’s strengths. [Read the review](https://observer.co.uk/culture/film/article/the-wizard-and-the-kremlin-has-one-big-problem) ## Variety — Owen Gleiberman Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 31 August 2025. Festival review. Gleiberman finds the film absorbing but diffuse, with an episodic structure that prevents it from building dramatic force. He praises Jude Law’s commanding, chilling portrayal of Putin and Paul Dano’s sly performance as Baranov. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2025/film/reviews/the-wizard-of-the-kremlin-review-jude-law-paul-dano-1236503005/) ## Los Angeles Times — Robert Abele Fi1m's normalised score 25/100 (inferred from the text). 15 May 2026. Abele finds the film a glib, shallow political drama that reduces a complex history to lectures and talking points. He praises Jude Law’s commanding portrayal of Putin, while criticizing Paul Dano’s performance and the film’s lack of nuance. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2026-05-15/wizard-of-kremlin-review-jude-law-paul-dano-alicia-vikander-olivier-assayas) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 25/100 (inferred from the text). 31 August 2025. Bradshaw finds the film laborious and ultimately pointless, despite Jude Law’s chilly impersonation of Putin. He praises Law’s performance but criticizes Paul Dano’s one-note delivery and the film’s droning voiceover. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/aug/31/the-wizard-of-the-kremlin-review-paul-dano-jude-law-olivier-assayas) ## The New Yorker — Richard Brody Fi1m's normalised score 15/100 (inferred from the text). 13 May 2026. Brody finds the film politically passive and artistically constrained, offering little meaningful critique of Putinism. He particularly faults its elegant, detached storytelling for taking Vadim’s self-serving account at face value and excluding the people affected by the regime. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/the-hollow-trickery-of-the-wizard-of-the-kremlin) ## Deadline — Damon Wise Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 31 August 2025. Festival review. Wise finds the political drama engrossing, thoughtful, and sharply insightful. He especially praises Jude Law’s portrayal of Putin and Paul Dano’s mysterious performance as Baranov. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2025/08/the-wizard-of-the-kremlin-review-jude-law-paul-damo-olivier-assayas-1236502395/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 31 August 2025. Festival review. The critic finds the film bold and timely, though its dense, exhausting approach can weigh it down. Paul Dano’s quiet, controlled performance is singled out as the force holding the film together. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/the-wizard-of-the-kremlin-review/) ## Collider — Ross Bonaime Rating 4/10. 7 September 2025. The critic finds the drama exhausting, overstuffed, and lifeless. Jude Law’s portrayal of Putin is singled out as the film’s bright spot. [Read the review](https://collider.com/the-wizard-of-the-kremlin-review-jude-law-paul-dano/) ## Eye for Film — Jennie Kermode Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 6 March 2026. Festival review. Kermode finds the film rushed and shallow, with its Cold War-thriller approach limiting its potential. She singles out Jude Law’s subtle, compelling performance as Putin for praise. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-wizard-of-the-kremlin-2025-film-review-by-jennie-kermode) ## The Skinny — Philip Concannon Rating ★. 13 April 2026. Concannon finds the film laborious and misjudged, with little insight into its subject. He singles out Jude Law’s steely menace as Putin, while criticizing Paul Dano’s narration and casting. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/the-wizard-of-the-kremlin) ## The Playlist Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). Festival review. The headline signals a strongly negative verdict, calling the film a bloated bore. It singles out the drama’s bloat as the main complaint. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/the-wizard-of-the-kremlin-review-olivier-assayas-drama-about-power-in-putins-russia-is-a-bloated-bore-venice-20250831/) --- © 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-wizard-of-the-kremlin.md